Read and see a short history of the examination
technique called The Touch.
Read Dr. Soucasaux about the colposcope,
used to examine the vulva, vagina and cervix of the
uterus.
 
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MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
Treatise on the Diseases of Women for the Use
of
Students and Practitioners by Alexander J. C. Skene, M. D. (New York,
1892)
Excerpts about treatment for menstrual problems in late 19th century America,
Dr. Marion Sim's brilliant gynecological surgery for fistula of the vagina
&
urinary bladder (America's first great contribution to gynecology),
Dr. Skene's discovery of the paraurethral gland, & many stories about
patients
When Dr. Skene wrote this almost 1000-page book, scientists had not
yet discovered hormones or antibiotics.
Skene mentions the swirl of controversy around why menstruation occurs,
which of course is driven by hormones - but he didn't know that. And you'll
read that he, like other physicians, pours carbolic
acid on infections in lieu of anything gentler - but at least sometimes
it worked.
This book appeared in the early stages of modern scientific medicine,
an era when everyone decried masturbation (he calls it self abuse) - Skene writes that it caused
a small uterus in one woman - everyone, that is, except those
physicians who themselves masturbated patients, a practice that led
to the development of the vibrator!
I offer a few selections from this interesting volume below, including
the writer's short account of his discovery of the
glands in the female urethra named for him (the urethra conducts
urine from the bladder to the outside of the body via the vulva).
I thank SarahAnne Hazelwood for donating this
book!
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Below: The spine of the book measures 10"
(25.4 cm) high.
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Below: On this and the following
pages I trimmed the white margins to make smaller
files.
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NEXT | Skene's fame: The female urethra & Skene's glands
- Menstruation: CASE
STUDIES: #1 #2 #3 #4
#5 #6 #7 #8
#9 #10 #11 #12
#13 #14 #15 #16
#17 - Sims's FAMOUS OPERATION for vesico [bladder]-vaginal fistula
- Gynecological examination by the touch:
Exam table Bimanual Rectum Percussion
Palpation Speculum
Sims's position picture - Development
of the sexual organs -
Virgin uterus -
Double uterus & vagina
- Unicorn uterus
- Duplex uterus -
Vulva: anatomy DIAGRAM Virgin's vulva
Kinds of hymen Hermaphroditism
Diseases of the vulva:
Varicose veins Wounds Dissipated
woman receives brutal beating
from husband Pruritis (itching)
Eruptions
of the vulva - Anatomy of the vagina
Sims's speculum in this museum - Read and
see a short history of the examination technique
called The Touch.
Read Dr. Soucasaux about the colposcope, used
to examine the vulva, vagina and cervix of the uterus.
© 2009 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute any
of the work on this Web site
in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please
report suspected
violations to hfinley@mum.org\
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