A surgical retractor is provided to retain tissue in a retracted position and expose an interior surface during a surgical procedure. The surgical retractor is self-retaining and includes opposing blades that are removably mountable on arms of the surgical retractor via a ball-and-socket assembly that permits swiveling and hinging of the opposing blades independent from each other and the arms. Each of the opposing blades have a plurality of talons with a curved surface to slidably receive and partially enwrap bone matter so that the plurality of talons securely engage the bone matter while permitting slidable adjustment therebetween.
