Abstract: A surgical lighting system provides remote control of surgical lights. The parameters (for example, illumination levels and beam direction) of the lights are remotely controlled, thereby eliminating the need for surgical personnel to manipulate the lights. The individual light instruments that are employed with the system are enclosed in the housing that isolates the instruments from the surgical suite, thereby avoiding contamination. A sequence of lighting parameters as required for a particular surgical procedure may be pre-recorded and played back by the processor that controls the light instrument parameters.