Definition of "stylet" [sty•let]

• A slender, pointed instrument or weapon, such as a stiletto. (noun)
• A surgical probe. (noun)
• A fine wire that is run through a catheter, cannula, or hollow needle to keep it stiff or clear of debris. (noun)
• Zoology A small, stiff, needlelike organ or appendage, such as the feeding organ of a tardigrade. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For my own use I have taken off the ratchet-locking device for all general work, to be reapplied on the rare occasions when it is required.] _Bronchoscopic and esophagoscopic grasping forceps_ are of the tubular type, that is, a stylet carrying the jaws works in a slender tube so that traction on the stylet draws the V of the open jaws into the lumen of the tube, thus causing the blades to approximate."
• "The needle stylet was removed and a 1-mm fiber-optic micro endoscope was introduced into the needle sheath to allow direct visualization of the bipolar cord cauterization procedure."
• "Modified stylet technique for tenting of amniotic membranes."