Physicians in the Classical World had access to a variety of surgical instruments that were designed to aid them in their treatment of the sick. Several ancient texts mention the use of surgical tools and several of these texts offer a brief description of some of the instruments used by doctors in antiquity. The precise date when each instrument was first employed is largely unknown. The most of the instruments mentioned in the texts seem to have been available to Hippocrates (circa 460 B.C.) and continued to be used throughout the late Roman empire with several existing in a similar form still being used by physician's today.