A rongeur is a strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone. Rongeur is a French word that means rodent or ‘gnawer’.

A rongeur can be used to open a window in bone, often in the skull. It is used in neurosurgery, podiatric surgery, and orthopedic surgery to expose areas for operation.

The Stille-Luer Horsley and Leksell rongeur point straight from the handle, while the duckbill points to the side.

A common example of a surgical rongeur is the Kerrison rongeur, in which its first design was created by Dr. Robert Masters Kerrison (1776–1847), an English physician, but it took more than 100 years before the Kerrison rongeur was modified and took its current form.

Micro straight pituitary rongeur