Medical gloves are disposable gloves used in medical examination and procedures, which help to prevent cross contamination between nurses and patients. Medical gloves are made of different polymers, including latex, NBR, PVC and neoprene; they can be lubricated with cornstarch powder instead of powder to make them easier to wear on hands.

Corn starch replaces Lycoris powder and talcum powder that stimulate tissue, but even corn starch entering tissue can hinder healing (such as during surgery). Therefore, powder free gloves are more often used in surgery and other sensitive procedures. Special manufacturing process is used to make up for the shortage of powder.

There are two main types of medical gloves: Inspection gloves and surgical gloves. Surgical gloves are more accurate in size, accuracy and sensitivity, and meet higher standards. Inspection gloves can be sterile or non sterile, while surgical gloves are usually sterile.

In addition to medicine, medical gloves are also widely used in chemical and biochemical laboratories. Medical gloves provide some basic protection for corrosion and surface pollution. However, they are easily penetrated by solvents and various harmful chemicals, so gloves should not be used for dishwashing or other ways if their hands are immersed in solvents.

Generally speaking, the size of inspection gloves is XS, s, m and L. Some brands may offer XL sizes. Surgical gloves are usually more accurate in size because they take a long time to wear and require excellent flexibility. The size of the surgical gloves is based on the measured circumference (in inches) around the palm, which is slightly higher than the level of thumb sewing. The typical sizing range is 5.5 to 9.0 in 0.5 increments. Some brands may also offer 5.0 sizes that are particularly relevant to women practitioners. It may take some time for first-time users of surgical gloves to find the size and brand that best fits their hand geometry. People with thick palms may need to be larger than the size, and vice versa.

A study of a group of American surgeons found that the most common surgical glove size for men was 7.0, followed by 6.5; for women, it was 6.0, followed by 5.5

Powder has been used as a lubricant for gloves. It has been found that the early powder derived from pine or club moss is toxic. Talcum powder has been used for decades, but it is related to postoperative granuloma and scar formation. Corn starch, another lubricant, has also been found to have potential side effects, such as inflammation, granuloma and scar formation.

Due to the increased rate of latex allergy among health professionals, and in the general population, gloves made of non latex materials, such as PVC, NBR or neoprene, have been widely used. Chemical methods can be used to reduce the amount of antigen protein in rubber tree latex to produce alternative natural rubber based materials, such as vytex natural rubber latex. However, non latex gloves have not yet replaced latex gloves in surgical procedures, because gloves made of alternative materials usually do not fully match the fine control or higher touch sensitivity that latex surgical gloves can achieve. (high grade isoprene gloves are the only exception because they have the same chemical structure as natural latex. However, the fact that fully artificial polyisoprene - rather than "low allergen" clean natural latex - is also the most expensive substitute for natural latex other high-end non latex gloves (such as nitrile gloves) are more than twice the price of their latex gloves often prevents their use in cost sensitive environments (such as many hospitals). NBR is synthetic rubber. It has no latex protein content and is more tear resistant. And it is highly resistant to many chemicals, and people who are allergic to latex protein are also very safe. Nitrile gloves are the most durable disposable gloves. Although nitrile gloves are known for their durability, great care should be taken when handling silver and other highly reactive metals, as these substances react with sulfur, the accelerant in nitrile gloves.