means A small, extremely sharp knife used by surgeons and anatomists for precise incisions.

from From Latin 'scalpellum,' a little knife — the diminutive of 'scalprum,' a chisel or cutting tool, which traces back to the verb 'scalpere,' to cut, carve, or scratch. So the word carries within it the image of a sculptor's chisel shrunk down to the size of a single deliberate cut, a cousin to 'sculpt' from the same carving root.