These forceps are commonly held between the thumb and two or three fingers of one hand. Spring tension at one end holds the grasping ends apart until pressure is applied. This allows one to quickly and easily grasp small objects or tissue to move and release it or to grasp and hold tissue with easily variable pressure. These forceps are used to hold tissue in place when applying sutures to gently move tissues out of the way during exploratory surgery and to move dressings or draping without using the hands or fingers.