Speculum (medicine)
Vaginal and anal specula were used by the ancient Greeks and Romans,[2][3] and speculum artifacts have been found in Pompeii.
[4][5] The modern vaginal speculum, developed by J. Marion Sims, consists of a hollow cylinder with a rounded end that is divided into two hinged parts, somewhat like the beak of a duck.
The modern vaginal speculum was developed by J. Marion Sims, a plantation doctor in Lancaster County, United States.
In these experiments, Sims developed a technique to repair fistula and in the process invented the duckbill speculum.
In Great Britain, examinations of the cervix were made mandatory for all women convicted of prostitution by the country's Contagious Disease Act.
Use of the speculum was generally avoided in medical practices, and most vaginal conditions were diagnosed through symptoms or palpating the abdomen.
Specula come in a variety of shapes based on their purpose, and a variety of sizes;[11] in any case the cylinder or bill(s) of the instrument allow the operator a direct vision of the area of interest and the possibility to introduce instruments for further interventions such as a biopsy.
The most common specula used in gynecologic practice are varying sizes of bivalved vaginal speculum; the two bills are hinged and are "closed" when the speculum is inserted to facilitate its entry and "opened" in its final position where they can be arrested by a screw mechanism, so that the operator is freed from keeping the bills apart.
[15] (see diagram) The device has two main functions: a) to take a normal Pap smear with a cervical brush or a cytology brush; and b) as an internal colposcope so that the operator can pivot the Veda-scope to view any part of the vagina barrel and cervix facilitated by an internal light source that can illuminate the vaginal wall and cervix with multi-coloured light filters, which can detect pre-cancerous cells with the aid of acetic acid solution and iodine solution.
This style of anal speculum is one of the oldest designs for surgical instruments still in use, with examples dating back many centuries.
