SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 10-K/A

|X|         Annual  report  pursuant  to Section  13 or 15(d) of the  Securities
            Exchange Act of 1934 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1997 or

| |         Transition  report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
            Exchange Act of 1934.


                           MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
                           ---------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Utah                          0-18592                   87-0447695
          ----                          -------                   ----------
(State or other jurisdiction      (Commission File No.)         (IRS Employer
    of incorporation)                                        Identification No.)

                             1600 West Merit Parkway
                            South Jordan, Utah 84095
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

         Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (801) 253-1600

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

                                      None
                                      ----

         Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

                                                  Title of Class
                                                  --------------
                                            Common Stock, No Par Value

         Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports
required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of
1934  during  the  preceding  12 months  (or for such  shorter  period  that the
Registrant was required to file such reports),  and (2) has been subject to such
filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes |X|  No | |

         The aggregate  market value of the Common Stock held by  non-affiliates
of the Registrant,  based upon the closing sale price of the Common Stock on the
NASDAQ National Market System on March 26, 1998, was  approximately  $48,114,229
Shares of Common  Stock held by each officer and director and by each person who
may be deemed to be an affiliate have been excluded.

         As of March 26,  1998 the  Registrant  had  7,402,189  shares of Common
Stock outstanding.

                       DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

         The  Registrant's  definitive  Proxy  Statement  relating to the Annual
Meeting of Shareholders  scheduled for May 27, 1998 is incorporated by reference
in Part III of this report.

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent  filers  pursuant to
Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained  herein,  and will not be contained,
to the best of the  Registrant's  knowledge,  in definitive proxy or information
statements  incorporated  by  reference  in Part  III of this  Form  10-K or any
amendment to this Form 10-K. |X|


                                                         





                                   SIGNATURES


          Pursuant to the  requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on March 29, 1998.

                                        MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.



                                        By:_____________________________________
                                            Fred P. Lampropoulos, President
                                              and Chief Executive Officer

          Pursuant to the  requirements of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
this  report has been  signed  below by the  following  persons on behalf of the
Registrant and in the capacities indicated on March 29,1998.


           Signature                         Capacity in Which Signed
           ---------                         ------------------------




___________________________________     President, Chief Executive Officer 
Fred P. Lampropoulos                    and Director



___________________________________     Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, 
Kent W. Stanger                         Treasurer and Director (Principal 
                                        financial and accounting officer)


___________________________________     Director
Richard W. Edelman



___________________________________
Rex C. Bean                             Director



___________________________________
James J. Ellis                          Director



___________________________________
Michael E. Stillabower                  Director




                                       14


MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
- --------------------------------------------

Selected Financial Data
Year Ended December 31, - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Data: Sales $ 60,579,011 $ 50,455,766 $ 42,587,284 $ 33,324,245 $ 25,431,180 Cost of sales 37,766,116 29,319,617 24,987,998 18,999,015 13,653,379 Gross profit 22,812,895 21,136,149 17,599,286 14,325,230 11,777,801 Selling, general, and administrative expenses 15,726,651 14,311,049 12,808,805 10,232,215 7,836,018 Research and development expenses 4,446,795 2,533,171 2,330,324 2,069,882 1,306,782 Income from operations 2,639,449 4,291,929 2,460,157 2,023,133 2,635,001 Other income (expense) (863,933) (661,777) (459,462) (29,868) 4,860 Income before income tax expense 1,775,516 3,630,152 2,000,695 1,993,265 2,639,861 Income tax expense 944,981 1,277,431 700,418 775,453 799,650 Minority interest in (income) loss of subsidiary (33,003) (190,113) (79,040) 33,035 Net income 797,532 2,162,608 1,221,237 1,250,847 1,840,211 Net income per share $ .11 $ .31 $ .18 $ .19 $ .28 Weighted average shares outstanding 7,369,668 7,051,911 6,851,164 6,678,041 6,679,758 Balance Sheet Data: Working capital $ 14,737,971 $ 12,761,211 $ 9,518,971 $ 9,032,899 $ 10,226,533 Total assets 45,269,678 41,718,553 34,503,858 27,024,267 20,479,384 Long-term debt 3,913,686 4,822,126 1,778,953 827,592 841,921 Stockholders' equity $ 25,802,149 $ 22,487,123 $ 19,264,525 $ 17,537,029 $ 15,705,152