Gynecology (from the Greek words: gyne - woman and logos - science) is a science that studies the structural features and physiological processes that occur in a woman’s body from childhood to old age, as well as diseases of the female genital organs that occur outside of pregnancy and childbirth. Modern obstetrics and gynecology are a single clinical discipline.
The history of the development of gynecology is closely connected with the formation of all medical knowledge accumulated during the existence of mankind. In particular, gynecology is sometimes inseparable from obstetrics and is in close connection with related sciences - surgery, therapy, neurology.
According to written sources, gynecology is the oldest field in medical science. The first mentions of solving issues related to gynecology in its modern understanding are found already in the most ancient Indian, Greek, Egyptian, and Slavic written monuments.
Thus, references to female diseases, their treatment, and the menstrual cycle are found in historical sources such as the Talmud and the book of Moses. The great attention paid to gynecology in such ancient times is also explained by the fact that it is directly related to procreation.
Mentions of gynecology are found in the documents of Hippocrates (4-5 centuries BC), doctors of ancient India and Egypt, and among the Slavic peoples. Hippocrates described the diagnosis and clinical picture of inflammatory diseases of the female genital organs. After Hippocrates, gynecology, like all medicine, continued to develop, although rather slowly.
In the Middle Ages, although gynecology was revived, it came under the dominant influence of mysticism and scholasticism at that time. Only since the Renaissance did doctors begin to collect material for the construction of a building for scientific gynecology. Gynecology began to actively develop in the 16th century, when the structure of the female body and its features were accurately studied and described in scientific works. Scientists of that time A. Vesalius and T. Bartolin contributed to the development of this branch of medicine by studying the anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system.
From the 18th century Gynecology emerged as an independent science. The Russian doctor N. M. Maksimovich-Ambodik, in the first Russian original manual, “The Art of Bowing” (1784-86), paid a lot of attention to physiology, pathology, diagnosis and prevention of gynecological diseases. The progress of gynecology was significantly facilitated by the opening of gynecological clinics and higher medical educational institutions in Russia (the first gynecological department was created in 1842 in the obstetric clinic of the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy) and abroad.
Gynecology received significant development at the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the research of Russian, American and German scientists. In the first half of the 20th century, important steps were made in the diagnosis and treatment of many gynecological diseases. In the middle of the 19th century, the first obstetrics and gynecology centers began to emerge. At the dawn of the 20th century, the surgical direction in gynecology began to develop.
In Russia, gynecology for a very long time was combined with obstetrics and even childhood diseases; in some medical institutes these three departments are still connected together. The development of operative gynecology was facilitated by advances in anesthesiology, the use of antibiotics, blood transfusions, the development of effective control of shock and terminal conditions, and the improvement of surgical techniques.
In 1903, the founder of gynecology in Russia, Snegirev, spoke out against the one-sided enthusiasm for surgical interventions. He was the first to express an opinion about the relationship between the local process and the state of the whole organism. Subsequently, this point of view in gynecology became generally accepted.
The study of radiation therapy methods has made it possible to use it in gynecology in the treatment of malignant neoplasms of the female genital organs. The use of the colposcope proposed in 1925 by the German physician H. Hinzelmann and the method of cytological examination, introduced in 1933 by the American scientist G. Papanicolaou, expanded the diagnostic capabilities of gynecological examinations.
In Russia and abroad the following are being developed: issues of physiology and pathology of the female genital organs, gynecological oncology; problems of menstrual dysfunction, endocrine disorders; mechanisms of development and treatment of inflammatory diseases of the female genital organs; issues of operative gynecology, urogynecology and pediatric gynecology.
A method of radical surgery for uterine cancer was developed and became widespread (the Austrian scientist E. Wertheim and the Russians A. P. Gubarev, I. L. Braude, S. S. Dobrotin, etc.). The development of operative gynecology was facilitated by advances in anesthesiology, the use of antibiotics, blood transfusions, the development of effective control of shock and terminal conditions, and the improvement of surgical techniques.
Techniques that are widely used in world gynecology are widely used in modern medicine and help to avoid the most serious complications of many gynecological diseases.
In the 20th century Great strides have been made in theoretical gynecology. In Russia, problems of theoretical and clinical gynecology are covered in general medical literature and special journals - “Obstetrics and Gynecology” (since 1936), “Issues of maternal and child health” (since 1956), etc.
Since the end of the 20th century, the rapid development of cryosurgery, video endoscopy (sparing “croneless” operations on the pelvic organs for infertility, tumors of the ovary, uterus), fetal therapy (surgeries on the intrauterine fetus), assisted reproductive technologies (in vitro fertilization for infertility) have significantly improved the quality women's lives. The improvement of medications used in gynecology makes it possible to successfully solve problems that were impossible in the 50s of the 20th century. - correction of the menstrual cycle, safe contraception, radical cure for inflammatory diseases, regression of small benign tumors of the ovaries and uterus.
The introduction of evidence-based medicine (medicine based on controlled randomized trials and meta-analysis) has made it possible to introduce into clinical practice standard diagnostic and treatment protocols that are truly proven, reliable, and safe.
In the West, the word "female circumcision", or "clitoridectomy", is associated with certain backward regions of Africa. However, Western doctors also have extensive experience in this area. In the 19th century, removal of the clitoris was considered a normal surgical procedure that could lead to the healing of many female diseases.
Removal of the clitoris was believed in the 19th century to be the most effective treatment for mental illness in women. For example, in an appeal issued in 1855 in support of the expansion of a women's hospital in New York, one can read the following: “The statistics of our mental hospitals show that 25-40% of all cases of mental illness are rooted directly in organic female diseases, which in Most cases can be cured if necessary and timely treatment is carried out.”
The leading advocate of medical clitoridectomy was the English gynecologist Isaac Baker Brown, one of the founders of St. Mary's Hospital in London, where he worked as a gynecological surgeon with an impeccable reputation. In 1858, his fame (as well as his financial means) was so great that he was able to open a private clinic called the London Clinic for Women's Surgical Treatment. In 1865 he was elected president of the London Medical Society, and in 1866 he published a book entitled “On the Cure of Certain Kinds of Insanity, Epilepsy, Catalepsy and Hysteria in Women.” The book was almost entirely a eulogy for clitoral removal. Baker Brown was inspired to carry out such operations by ideas about the physiology of the nervous system that were popular in those years: it was believed that if the brain is in a state of complete confusion, then the reason may lie in “peripheral irritation.”
(Dr. Baker Brown)
“Constantly engaged in the treatment of diseases of the female genital organs, I repeatedly failed in my attempts to successfully cope with hysterical and other nervous manifestations that complicated gynecological problems, and, moreover, I could not establish the true cause of my failures. Long and frequent observation convinced me that a large number of diseases, occurring only in women, depended on the loss of nerve force, and that this was caused by peripheral irritation, and it originates initially in some branches of the pubic nerve, namely, in the input nerve, supplying the clitoris, and sometimes in some of the branches supplying the vagina, perineum and anus,” this doctor wrote.
He undoubtedly sincerely believed that the nervous diseases encountered in his practice would ultimately lead to the death of a woman, so against this background the extreme measures he took become somewhat more understandable. The doctor himself described his actions as follows:
“The patient was given full anesthesia (the operation was done under chloroform), and then her clitoris could be safely cut off - either with scissors or a scalpel. I personally always prefer scissors. Then the wound should be tightly filled with lint compresses, a pad should be applied and bandaged properly with a T-shaped bandage. The patient was supposed to be carefully monitored, and this responsibility was assigned to the nurses, and the patient’s hands were often tied so that she could not touch the wound.”
Quite often, the clitoris was removed on the same day that the patient was admitted to the clinic, and she was discharged from the Clinic for Surgical Treatment Methods two to three weeks later, invariably declaring her “cured.” Some patients and their relatives then wrote letters filled with unbridled gratitude: their constipation, which had previously tormented them for years, instantly went away; women who had never been able to get pregnant before were relieved of their infertility; even the tumors were resolving.
“After talking with her husband, it turned out that for several years she suffered from severe attacks, especially during menstruation, so that she would sometimes pounce on him and tear his skin with her nails, like a tigress. However, this patient eventually recovered completely; subsequently she did not suffer from any illnesses and became a good wife in all respects,” the doctor described the consequences.
In the USA, Baker Brown found many followers. According to historian J. J. Barker-Benfield, such operations were performed there from the 1860s until 1904, and clitoral circumcision was actively promoted as a treatment for mental illness. Baker Brown's book became a source of inspiration for local doctors, as evidenced by the 1873 Philadelphia Society of Obstetricians' Report. Then a certain Dr. Goodell introduced his colleagues to the following problem: one of his patients, a thirty-year-old woman, had been suffering from a manic desire for masturbation since the age of fourteen, and she had previously consulted with a surgeon about deteriorating health and associated mental confusion. The surgeon concluded that her clitoris was abnormally large and therefore removed part of it.
However, cutting off the clitoris was not the only “treatment” for nervous and mental illnesses in women at that time. Doctors also widely practiced the “cure” of removing the ovaries or uterus. One of the “pioneers” in this field was the Dutch professor of gynecology Hector Troub (1856-1920). Here is one of the cases of his “treatment”.
“The woman first received sessions of “psychic treatment” from Troub himself, and this therapy “consisted of daily conversations-lectures, which were more or less good-natured in nature, so that the patient gradually got used to sitting on a chair, and then doing small walks." Because she was convinced she had a tumor on her ovaries, Troib performed surgery on her to remove them.
However, despite this, the pain in the abdominal cavity persisted and was very severe. After undergoing electrocautery of the cervix (cauterizing tissue with electricity), Troib decided to “treat an overly sensitive patient” using cauterization with an iron branding brand. A course of sulfur baths followed, after which Troub also "treated the patient for some time with cold shower sessions." As a result, after fiddling with her for about five months and exhausting all his options, Troub recommended that she see a psychiatrist named Winkler.
There is a well-known story about a gynecologist who wrote to a general practitioner who was referring a patient to him: “It makes no more sense to refer this lady to me, since she no longer has those organs that are within the competence of a gynecologist.”
Also famous in this area was Robert Batty, a surgeon from the city of Rome in Georgia, after whom the operation to remove normal ovaries is named. One woman who masturbated (which was then considered a sexual perversion) wrote after Betty's operation: “My health now is such that it could not be better. I know how good I feel; I don't masturbate anymore; this is now alien and disgusting to me.”
The enthusiasm with which surgeons in America then began performing operations on the female genital organs led to lasting consequences. The United States is the country with the highest number of hysterectomies: today, one in three women over 60 has had their uterus removed (while in France the ratio is no more than 1:18). Moreover, in the USA, the ovaries are also removed.
Clitoridectomy was eradicated at the end of the 19th century in Europe and the beginning of the 20th century in America. Today, the “stronghold” of this operation remains the countries of northern Africa (primarily Sudan and Somalia, where clitoral circumcision is performed on 99% of girls). The West has launched a powerful campaign to eradicate this evil in Africa. Moreover, on this and other continents at the beginning of the 21st century, clitoridectomy is becoming increasingly widespread.
For example, in Uganda, where there was previously no such ritual in the culture, the upper strata of society have now introduced the practice of clitoral circumcision for their daughters. The reason for this was the claim that the procedure could allegedly strengthen the African roots of their national identity. In Indonesia, it was previously customary to make an incision in the clitoral area, but today, when Muslim hijabs are increasingly being worn there, it can be assumed that female circumcision will become much more radical. In Chad and the Central African Republic, the introduction of female circumcision is explained by the fact that, given the raging HIV epidemic there, it helps avoid sexual relations before marriage. It will not be possible to defeat clitoridectomy so easily in Africa and other countries.
More in the Interpreter’s Blog about inhumane medical experiments:
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the First World was overwhelmed by a passion for remaking man. The results were not slow to appear: the Russian-French subbotnik Voronov and the Austrian Steinach carried out hundreds of transplants of monkey testicles into people for the purpose of rejuvenation. But in the 1940s, for ethical reasons, these experiments were prohibited.
A gynecologist from Val-d'Oise, a department in central France, suspected of sexually harassing patients, was charged on Saturday. He is prohibited from practicing during the entire investigation, liberation.fr reports.
A 64-year-old gynecologist from Domon, who has been charged with rape and sexual assault, has been placed under arrest. 92 women filed complaints against him, saying they were "victims of rude gestures during consultations."
The doctor himself, whose name has not been disclosed, categorically denies these accusations. "He says that he is a very gentle doctor, he works very slowly. He takes time to listen to his patients. (...) Some women think that he allowed himself unworthy things. When he put his hand on their stomach, some of "women mistook this gesture for intimate caresses. But this was not the case," his Parisian lawyer Jean Chevet presented such arguments proving his client's innocence.
The gynecologist denies any misconduct, citing "misinterpretations of his medical procedures intended for patients," his lawyer said. At the same time, according to investigators, some acts committed by the doctor during medical examinations of his patients can be interpreted as “rape” or “sexual violence.”
Investigators have now reviewed at least 10,000 patient records of the Domon doctor to identify women who may have been victims of violence. Nearly 5,000 women were interviewed by investigators, and only 90 “complained about the doctor,” the lawyer said. It is known that the gynecologist practiced for many years in the city of Domont, which is located about twenty kilometers north of Paris.
Meanwhile
In February 2014, French gynecologist Andre Hazou was sentenced to eight years in prison for rape and sexual assault against six of his patients.
It’s a shame that the creature wasn’t impaled live. Damn her, she is worse than drug addicts who beat grandmothers to death after receiving a pittance pension. Eugene
For two years? Tear up your diploma! Two years later, can she be “treated” again?
She is no worse than drug addicts and grandmothers who kill, but equal to them... In hell everyone is equal...
Yes!! Our judges are downright humanists!! Such people really should be given 20 years, so that other equally “wonderful” doctors won’t be bothered!
If you need witnesses to her crimes, write to [email protected]. She worked part-time at a clinic in the Obukhov business center and made dangerous diagnoses, prescribing huge doses of drugs that greatly affect the body... I think one person cannot bring a serious lawsuit against her (they have someone there) ... but a collective one I think plant it deep.
Kirillova “the doctor Mengele” should be given a life sentence. The judge will be stripped of his robe for life.
And there was not a note of remorse on his face. It is thanks to people like this that faith in doctors disappears. And throughout the justice system.
The problem in Russian medicine is that it is impossible to find normal specialists. In the budget - indifference, and did not look at the patient, but wrote that he looked..., but in a private one you can get into extortion of money. In general, whether in the public sector or in the private sector, you can encounter fraud, but in medicine this is a blow to your health and your wallet. Sometimes people give their last money and borrow money. And the fault of the disease does not always lie solely with the patient. Regarding pregnant women, pregnant women are also sometimes without a tower. Familiar or unfamiliar, but there are antenatal clinics, maternity hospitals (where pregnant women are also looked after), and family planning centers. Threat of miscarriage... So this is an indication for hospitalization...
You need to go to the miscarriage department... where they will maintain the pregnancy and understand the cause of the threat. And here a gynecologist alone is not enough, you need a therapist, and maybe other specialists. In the conditions of a small honey. center, which is not a private obstetrics and gynecology institution, to conduct pregnancy, even among friends it is dangerous. You can consult with friends if you have doubts about antenatal clinic doctors, etc., but it is dangerous to carry out a pregnancy, especially if it is at risk, in a non-specialized institution.
And then, of course, both the pregnant woman and those around her did not have the intelligence to contact a specialist. institution, especially the threat of miscarriage...
Honestly, I can’t believe that the gynecologist deliberately made money out of her friend and caused harm to her health. Well, now is the time...
We wrote an article about one person, but how many such individuals are there in this system? Why don't they write about them? Everyone knows that there are doctors and nurses who treat pregnant women for caesarean sections (this is expensive, the doctor earns more from this than for natural childbirth), so why are they not identified and written about? Or has this already become the norm, and if everyone receives conditional treatment, then there will be no one to deliver the baby? :)
There is a lot of information written about her in the media, you don’t know who to believe, because what is written is not always true; I am not talking about this unfortunate woman, but in general.
It is not clear if this gynecologist’s woman (patient) was infertile and suddenly became pregnant and the medical doctor. center poses a threat of miscarriage, then the doctor was obliged to refer the patient for hospitalization with such an anamnesis!!! Why didn't she do it? Why didn’t the pregnant woman and her entourage think about hospitalization?
After all, their gynecologist friend worked in a non-specialized medical center? Or such faith in a friend that she and only she has? The budget is not without sin, and yet a pregnant woman diagnosed with a threat of miscarriage had to contact the budget..., that is, to housing complexes or family planning centers where there is a specialist. departments for pregnancy maintenance. And this diagnosis is an indication for sick leave... And did your friend pay the gynecologist for sick leave? :). If the threat of miscarriage is in the budget, sick leave is given free of charge... In general, in all these stories, the behavior of pregnant women is surprising and the behavior of those around them is surprising. There is a threat of miscarriage, and they are observed in non-specialized honey. center. Of course, an honest doctor friend will say that you should take precautions at an antenatal clinic or a family planning center. Take over the management of pregnancy in a non-specialist. the institution is dangerous.
A smart gynecologist is unlikely to do this :). Maybe I'm wrong? Gynecologists, of course, are desperate people, but they are not so stupid as to take on dangerous things in the 21st century under conditions that could lead them to a monastery.
There is information in the media that this woman found non-existent infections in her patients. I fundamentally disagree with this, since a gynecologist or his assistant midwife takes smears... And these smears are sent for research to the laboratory that services this institution, that is, there is a contract. Therefore, the doctor could not find non-existent infections; she had already seen the result according to the conclusion of the laboratory doctor.
If she was in collusion with the laboratory doctor, then that’s a different matter, but about the laboratory doctor and their conspiracy there is no information in the media, so blaming the gynecologist for finding non-existent infections is already wrong. A laboratory technician finds non-existent infections...
Age 43 is still very young...
It would be interesting to listen to the older generation of doctors and former pregnant women
In what conditions was obstetric and gynecological care previously included in the budget?
If people start telling, then... the leadership of that time, by today’s standards, would need to deprive them of their posts and deprive them of the right to hold medical positions.
The management is not even the chief doctors, but higher. Higher up they could have spent money in organizations. Today, of course, pregnant women give birth in better conditions, and doctors work in better conditions. But that's what the 21st century is for...
True rudeness among medical professionals. there are more staff. There is a struggle against this, of course, but there is still very little success.
And this Victoria Kirillova is just an unhappy woman... Working as a gynecologist, she could easily earn money for a car, etc. Moreover, according to media reports, there is a husband, so why indulge in grave sins?
Obstetricians-gynecologists are a surgical specialty that has always been elite and paid higher than other specializations.
According to media reports, this doctor had a husband. Why then do you need a husband if a woman takes on the male function of earning money? Helping your husband is one thing, but why replace your husband?
It's very hard to believe that this 43-year-old gynecologist is such a monster. I agree with Alexander that she may not be the only one... At 43 years old - a director... Who knows, maybe they gave the position of director in return, so that the girl would share. Until St. Petersburg lost its nickname "Gangster Petersburg". According to media reports, medicine ranks first in corruption.
This article is a lesson to all doctors: You won’t last long with deception...
The deception is revealed... Therefore, it is better to become and be a specialist...
Those who can pay a lot of money to be healthy...
There is a large field of activity in gynecology and obstetrics. For example, Pregnancy, contraception issues, infertility treatment, pregnancy.
It is very important to carry a pregnancy to term against the background of IVF, because miscarriage often occurs against the background of IVF... Improve yourself as a specialist in this field and there will be money, and private centers, if they are not fools, should let specialists work, and not swindlers who deceive people.
Only scoundrel doctors can make money from deception, because they are not specialists and do not want to be...
In the plan, if, indeed, the doctor acted intentionally, then deprivation of medical practice is necessary forever. And so... Based on such examples, the scoundrels will continue to rejoice and know that nothing will happen for this... and they will continue to deceive patients, etc. When they are deprived of medical practice forever, and even worse, put in prison for such premeditation, then the rest will know that this is punishable, and so... such animals (not doctors) will continue their dirty deeds and walk around and say, “Yes, what?” You! Not a single doctor has ever been imprisoned, where have you seen doctors being imprisoned or deprived of their medical practice forever? "
Deprived of medical practice for 2 years? 2 years fly by... especially when you have a family.
This story, of course, shocked me. Don’t renounce fate, court or prison, but God forbid... And when you know that there are all sorts of people in society who can deliberately frame the same doctor, you don’t feel at all comfortable. Dear doctors! Work as you should, do not succumb to grave sin, and God forbid you will not be judged.
It's better to be free.
Addition: an article about a gynecologist - this is a reason for thought, and thought has led to this question? Why did they write only about the gynecologist, about this person? You might think she's the only one like us. Alexander is quite right that, perhaps, not alone...
Nowadays there are enough medical centers that deceive their employees (that is, “black employers - black list”) and deceive patients, as they write about on the Internet, but no one pays attention to this: the centers both deceived and continue to deceive, and they open a bunch of their own new points, but no one writes about it here.
Doesn’t he write because people don’t go to court? workers don’t go because it’s nerves and there’s no time, it’s easier to change jobs, and patients too, because there’s no time and it’s easier to bypass such a center next time, so they write in reviews on the Internet.
It turns out that people won’t go to court, and the deception of some medical centers will go unpunished? (and they deceive both doctors, nurses and patients). In general, this is all strange. Some gynecologist was caught cheating, and a bunch of similar ones, however, are even worse - they are deceiving not only patients, but also doctors, they continue to flourish. Where's the justice?
There are also a lot of gross defects in the budget, people are still struggling.
The manager was deservedly removed from his position, the employees and patients said (God sees everything...), so the cronyism moved to manage the same position only in another building (next to the one where he worked), but after a while he returned to a leadership position there , where it was before. Where's the justice? With this approach, things won't be any better for us.
Addition to comment from 21.30. Somehow, when one person is singled out, it is somehow uncomfortable, because there are enough freaks in our medicine... Therefore, the dream is that in the future they will write something like this: In St. Petersburg, the cases of fraudulent doctors have been revealed: a gynecologist..., a number of me. centers deceived not only patients, but also their own employees, etc. Someone has a dream that I would disappear from here, I am disappearing, because everything has been clear with our medicine for a long time, you pray to God that decent doctors come your way. That's all :)
What, Y, is there a time limit on access to the network in your establishment? 12 of your comments, who are they for? Do you really think that they will be read, given your reputation?
Als-med... Kirovsky district. So, in the Kirov region there are plenty of fraudulent medical centers...
Sugreon! I do not think anything:). Don't read if something doesn't suit you :).
Considering your reputation, I believe that you should not be here, but read the rules of behavior in society, judging by your comment, you have these big problems. I recommend not to put yourself above others, this is just ignorance and someday with this approach you will be in the place of this gynecologist. I don’t know, maybe it gives you pleasure to go to court, but not everyone like you is sick in the head - swindlers. All the best. And go see a doctor if you have insomnia. In oo you need to sleep or read books :)
Sugreon! I wish you that at least for one minute your head will clear up a little. Be silent... And honor the memory of Elena Obraztsova.
She recently passed away. And today there will be a program about her. I recommend watching it.
Otherwise, apparently you don’t have enough ideas about this. Yes, and I advise you to at least be a little spiritually enriched. Go to creative evenings of talented people and then life will look a little from the other side. Life is multifaceted, but in your head it is one-sided... I am very sorry for you, except for sympathy, you and your comments do not evoke anything.
There are famous people who, for example, have a full work book, including not very good records (dismissal for violation of discipline - absenteeism), but this did not stop them from winning the love of people, performing on stage to this day (despite their age ) be popular among the public. They won’t come to you, but they will come to them... and they earn their money not by deception, but by talent. “You can’t drink talent…”, Talent can only be denigrated, which is what you, apparently, sugeron, are doing at 00 o’clock :). All the best.
Yes! And the last thing for stugreona: Elena Obraztsova died in Germany... She was served by German medical staff... It’s worth thinking about... They don’t even trust you not only with examination and treatment, but also with social services. care... despite your good work records, with 1-3 entries in your entire life :). Badly...
As for work records, they will soon be abolished altogether. As experience shows, they are not an indicator of the employee’s qualifications :). But now times have changed, it is considered that the more entries there are, the better :). Everything flows, everything changes. But, if, of course, doctors deliberately harm their patients, deliberately cheat them out of money, then, of course, we need to leave the profession.
And about the reputation :). Well, if we talk about me, then during the period of my working career there were no complaints from clients, they were satisfied with me, and there were no complaints from the first person either. I think this is a good reputation :). I'm not ashamed of my work.
And in general, as it happens with people, there will always be a sheep in the team who will not like you and can turn on the whole team :). If the team selected is narrow-minded, then the outcome of a more adequate employee is quite logical. This life...
It also happens to people that they are forced to change jobs not even because of the first person, but because of their colleagues. But this does not mean that the person who changed jobs is bad and has a bad reputation :). Strugeon! By the way, here we are not talking about me, but about the gynecologist and fraudulent doctors... So take up this area :)
In the Middle Ages, although gynecology was revived, it came under the influence of mysticism and pseudoscientific ideas. Medicine and, in particular, obstetrics and gynecology during this period developed rather poorly, like all medical science and natural science in Europe, since science was strongly influenced by the church and medieval religion
Religion instilled absolutely fantastic ideas like the dogma of the “Immaculate Conception,” church fanatics in the Middle Ages instilled the idea that children could be born from the devil, etc. any critical statements about such wild views from scientists and doctors led to their persecution , expulsion from his native country and torture of the Inquisition. It is quite clear that this situation had a disastrous effect on the development of obstetric science and gynecology.
During the period of the classical Middle Ages, when scholasticism dominated Western Europe and universities were mainly engaged in the compilation and commentary of individual manuscripts of ancient authors, the valuable empirical heritage of the ancient world was preserved and enriched by doctors and philosophers of the medieval East (Abu Bakr ar-razi, ibn Sina, ibn Rushd and others.
And yet medicine continued to develop. Thus, in Byzantium in the 9th century, a higher school was first founded, in which scientific disciplines and medicine were studied. History has preserved for us the names of the Byzantine doctors Oribasius, Paul (from Aegina), and others, who continued to develop the legacy of their predecessors. At the same time, obstetrics continued to remain at a very low stage of development. Obstetrics in the Middle Ages was considered low and indecent for male doctors. Delivery continued to remain in the hands of the midwives. Only in the most severe cases of pathological childbirth, when the mother and the fetus were in danger of death, did the “Grandmothers” call for help - a surgeon who most often used a fetal-destroying operation. In addition, the surgeon was not invited to every woman in labor, but mainly to women in labor from the wealthy class. The rest, insolvent women in labor, were satisfied with the help of “Grandma” and, instead of actual obstetric care, received from them spoken water, an amulet, or one or another ignorant benefit. It is not surprising that with such help, and with the failure to comply with basic hygiene requirements, the anatomy rate during childbirth and the postpartum period was very high. Pregnant women lived under constant fear of death. Correction of fetal malposition by rotation, this great achievement of antiquity, was forgotten or not used by most doctors.
Only the Renaissance era gave a new round in the deepening and systematization of all sciences and the building of scientific gynecology. A new direction in medicine appeared in the works of Paracelsus, Vesalius, and others. The innovators of the progressive movement sought to develop medical science on the basis of experience and observation. Thus, one of the greatest physician reformers of the Renaissance, Paracelsus (1493-1541), rejected the teaching of the ancients about the four juices of the human body, believing that the processes occurring in the body are chemical processes. The great anatomist a. Vesalius (1514-1564) corrected Galen's error regarding communications between the left and right parts of the heart and for the first time correctly described the structure of the woman's uterus. Another famous anatomist, the Italian Gabriel Fallopius (1532-1562), described in detail the oviducts that received his name (fallopian tubes.
During this period, anatomy began to develop rapidly. This led to a large number of discoveries also in the field of gynecology. In the 16th century, the first atlases appeared - manuals for midwives. It is necessary to list the scientists who made significant contributions to the development of gynecology and obstetrics.
Eustachius (1510-1574), a Roman professor of anatomy, very accurately described the structure of the female genital organs, based on mass autopsies of corpses in hospitals.
Arantius (1530 - 1589), a student of Visalia, dissecting the corpses of pregnant women, he described the development of the human fetus, its relationship with the mother. He saw one of the main reasons for difficult childbirth in the pathology of the female pelvis.
Botallo (1530-1600) described the blood supply to the fetus.
Ambroise Paré (1517-1590) - the famous French surgeon and obstetrician, restored and improved the forgotten method of turning the fetus on its leg. He recommended using rapid release of uterine contents to stop uterine bleeding. He was the first to invent a breast pump.
Trautman is credited with reliably successfully performing a caesarean section on a live woman in labor.
Gynecological surgery was revived somewhat earlier: as a department of pure surgery, it separated from obstetrics back in the Middle Ages. The works of European anatomists of the 16th and 17th centuries (T. Bartolina, R. Graaf, etc.) contain a description of the physiological structure of women. Already in the next century, gynecology as an independent science took shape.
During the Renaissance, the development of scientific anatomy (A. Vesalius, G. Fabricius, G. Fallopius, B. Eustachius) and physiological knowledge created the prerequisites for the development of scientific obstetrics and gynecology. The first extensive manual in Western Europe, “On Women's Diseases” (“De Mulierum Iiffeclionibus”), was compiled in 1579 by Luis Mercado (Mercado, Luis, 1525-1606) - a professor at the University of Toledo (Spain.
Of great importance for the development of obstetrics and gynecology was the work of Ambroise Paré, who returned to obstetrics the forgotten operation of turning the fetus on its stem, introduced gynecological speculum into widespread practice and organized the first obstetric department and the first obstetric school in Europe at the Hotel - Dieu hospital in Paris. Only women were accepted into it; The training lasted 3 months, of which 6 weeks were devoted to practical training.
The rapidly developing science and medicine of this period made it possible to carry out quite complex abdominal and gynecological operations. Original methods for removing abscesses from the pelvic cavity and plastic surgery of the female genital organs were proposed. Obstetrics also came under this influence. For the first time, Chamberlain (Chamberlain), and later L. Geister, proposed the use of obstetric forceps for difficult childbirth.
New diagnostic methods were developed that made it possible to determine the correctness and timing of labor, as well as the condition of the fetus. Anatomical concepts such as the size of the pelvis were studied, which subsequently made it possible to more or less accurately predict the course of labor and, accordingly, be prepared for all troubles. Leeuwenhoek's invention of the microscope made it possible to study in more detail the structure of the female genital organs, on the basis of which initial ideas about the function of various parts of the reproductive tract began to emerge. Abortion operations began to improve, although the church greatly interfered with this.
In the 19th century, training in obstetrics and midwifery was introduced into the system in special schools. However, along with this, ideas about the nature of the pathological processes that arise in the female genital organs, as well as their physiological directions, are preserved. The field of physiology and pathology of female genital organs has expanded so much that it has become a separate medical discipline - gynecology. In accordance with this, a new specialty is emerging - gynecologists. They also receive surgical treatment of female diseases; surgical gynecology arises. Gynecological clinics are opening, and gynecological departments are opening in hospitals.
Obstetrics and gynecology. obstetrics and gynecology
Gynecology (from the Greek gyneko- - woman and -ology - study) is a branch of medicine that studies diseases characteristic only of the woman’s body, primarily diseases of the female reproductive system. Most gynecologists today are also obstetricians. Gynecology is closely related to obstetrics, which studies phenomena in the female body related to pregnancy and childbirth, from the moment of conception to the end of the postpartum period; It is also close to surgery and other departments of practical medicine - nervous, internal diseases, etc.; outstanding representatives of gynecology were in the vast majority at the same time obstetricians or surgeons; but a woman’s sex life is so complex, it so influences the functions of all organs of her body, and the pathological changes in her genital area are so numerous and varied that gynecology itself became a separate science. Obstetrics is a branch of gynecology, a science dealing with theoretical and practical issues of pregnancy, childbirth and obstetric care. Previously, obstetrics included the care of the newborn, which is now subdivided into neonatology.
obstetrics and gynecology
Obstetrics (French accoucher - to help during childbirth) - the study of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period and gynecology (from the Greek gyne, gynaik (os) - woman; logos - teaching) - in the broad sense of the word - the study of women, in the narrow sense - the doctrine of women's diseases - are the most ancient branches of medical knowledge. Until the 19th century they were not separated, and the doctrine of female diseases was an integral part of the doctrine of obstetrics.
The first information about obstetrics and female diseases is contained in medical texts of the ancient East: Chinese hieroglyphic manuscripts, Egyptian papyri (“gynecological papyrus” from Kahun, 19th century BC, and the G. Ebers papyrus, 16th century BC). BC), Babylonian and Assyrian cuneiform tablets (II-I millennium BC), Indian Ayurvedic texts. They talk about women's diseases (uterine displacement, tumors, inflammation), diet for pregnant women, normal and complicated childbirth. The samhita of the famous surgeon of ancient India Sushruta mentions the incorrect position of the fetus in the uterus and the operations of turning the fetus on the stem and head, and, in necessary cases, the extraction of the fetus through fetal-destructive operations.
“The Hippocratic Collection” contains a number of special works: “On the Nature of Women”, “On Women’s Diseases”, “On Infertility”, etc., which contain descriptions of the symptoms of uterine diseases and methods of removing tumors using forceps, a knife and a hot iron. The ancient Greeks also knew about caesarean section, but they performed it only on a dead woman in order to extract a living fetus (according to mythology, this is how the god of healing Asclepius was born). Note that the first reliable information about a successful cesarean section on a live woman in labor dates back to 1610, it was performed by the German obstetrician I. Trautmann in the city of Wittenberg. In the final period of the history of ancient Greece - the Hellenistic era, when Alexandrian doctors began to perform anatomical dissections, obstetrics and gynecology began to emerge as an independent profession. Thus, a famous obstetrician of his time was the student of Herophilus Demetria from Apamea (2nd century BC). He studied the development of pregnancy, the causes of pathological childbirth, gave an analysis of various types of bleeding and divided them into groups. Another Alexandrian physician, Cleophantus (2nd century BC), compiled an extensive work on obstetrics and women’s diseases.
In the Middle Ages, although gynecology was revived, it came under the influence of mysticism and pseudoscientific ideas. Medicine and, in particular, obstetrics and gynecology during this period developed rather poorly, like all medical science and natural science in Europe, since science was strongly influenced by the church and medieval religion. Religion instilled absolutely fantastic ideas like the dogma of the “immaculate conception,” church fanatics in the Middle Ages instilled the idea that children could be born from the devil, etc. Any critical statements about such wild views from scientists and doctors led to their persecution , expulsion from his native country and torture of the Inquisition. It is quite clear that this situation had a disastrous effect on the development of obstetric science and gynecology.
And yet medicine continued to develop. Thus, in Byzantium in the 9th century, a higher school was first founded, in which scientific disciplines and medicine were studied. History has preserved for us the names of the Byzantine doctors Oribasius, Paul (from Aegina), and others, who continued to develop the legacy of their predecessors. At the same time, obstetrics continued to remain at a very low stage of development. Obstetrics in the Middle Ages was considered low and indecent for male doctors. Childbirth continued to remain in the hands of midwives. Only in the most severe cases of pathological childbirth, when the mother and the fetus were in danger of death, did the “grandmothers” call for help from a surgeon who most often used a fetal-destroying operation. In addition, the surgeon was not invited to every woman in labor, but mainly to women in labor from the wealthy class. The rest, insolvent women in labor, were satisfied with the help of the “grandmother” and, instead of actual obstetric care, received from them spoken water, an amulet, or one or another ignorant aid. It is not surprising that with such assistance, and in the absence of basic hygiene requirements, mortality during childbirth and the postpartum period was very high. Pregnant women lived under constant fear of death. Correction of fetal malposition by rotation, this great achievement of antiquity, was forgotten or not used by most doctors.
History of the development of gynecology. Ancient world
The history of medicine indicates that in ancient times the development of obstetrics, gynecology and surgery went hand in hand; in the books of Moses, the Prophets, the Talmud, etc. there is clear information about midwives, menstruation, female diseases and methods of treating them. Judging by the books of Hippocrates, knowledge of gynecology was quite extensive at that time (400 BC), and in gynecological examinations even then they resorted to palpation and manual diagnosis; Manual examination techniques were considered necessary to determine the displacement, prolapse and inclination of the uterus, the presence of tumors, and the suffering of the uterine cervix and sleeve. In ancient times, gynecological instruments were already used; Thus, during the excavations of Pompeii, a three-leaf sleeve mirror was found, which opened with a screw; Paul of Aegina mentions the sleeve mirror. Methods of treating female diseases were practiced in ancient times - local: smoking, douching, pessaries, cupping, poultices, lotions, etc.; and internal: laxatives, emetics, herbs and roots special for women, etc.
Gynecologist in the Middle Ages. Obstetrics and gynecology in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, although gynecology was revived, it came under the influence of mysticism and pseudoscientific ideas. Medicine, and, in particular, obstetrics and gynecology, developed rather poorly due to the fact that science was under the influence of the church and religion. Religion propagated absolutely fantastic ideas like the dogma of the “immaculate conception.” Any dissent was persecuted and sometimes accompanied by expulsion from their native country and the Inquisition.
During the period of the classical Middle Ages, when scholasticism dominated Western Europe and universities were mainly engaged in the compilation and commentary of individual manuscripts of ancient authors, the valuable empirical heritage of the ancient world was preserved and enriched by doctors and philosophers of the medieval East (Abu Bakr ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and others).
And yet medicine continued to develop. Thus, in Byzantium in the 9th century, a higher school was first founded, in which various scientific disciplines and medicine were studied. However, obstetrics continued to remain at a very low stage of development. Obstetrics in the Middle Ages was considered low and indecent for male doctors. Childbirth continued to remain in the hands of midwives. Only in the most severe cases, when the mother and the fetus were in danger, did they resort to the help of an experienced surgeon, who most often used a fetal-destroying operation. It is worth noting that mainly women in labor from the wealthy class had the opportunity to use the help of a surgeon. Women in labor of lower origin had to make do with the help of "grandmothers". As is known, the Middle Ages were characterized by a disastrous sanitary and hygienic situation. Thus, one should not be surprised that if basic hygiene requirements were not observed, mortality during childbirth and the postpartum period assumed enormous proportions.
He is considered the founder of obstetrics in Europe in the mid-18th century. Middle Ages
Medicine during this period was strongly influenced by religion, and therefore developed rather poorly. The Church propagated absolutely fantastic ideas like the dogma of the “immaculate conception.” Any critical statements about such views on the part of scientists and doctors led to their persecution, expulsion from their native country and torture by the Inquisition. It is quite clear that such a situation had a disastrous effect on the development of obstetric science. And yet medicine continued to develop. Thus, in Byzantium in the 9th century, a higher school was first founded, in which scientific disciplines were studied, including medicine. History has preserved for us the names of the Byzantine doctors Oribasius, Paul (from Aegina) and others, who continued to develop the legacy of their predecessors.
The centers of higher education, including medical education, were universities, which began to appear in the 11th century. There were very few university students. The basis of all sciences was theology. The dominant form of ideology at that time was religion, which permeated all teaching, which proceeded from the position that all possible knowledge was already taught in the Holy Scriptures.
However, although in the early and middle periods of feudalism (from the 5th to the 10th centuries and from the 11th to the 15th centuries) religion and scholasticism were a brake on the development of science, among the doctors there were those who not only studied from the books of Hippocrates, Soranus, Celsus, Paul, but also continued to study nature and its phenomena. Yet obstetrics remained at a very low stage of development. Obstetrics in the Middle Ages was considered low and indecent for male doctors. Childbirth was still handled by midwives. Only in the most difficult cases, when the woman in labor and the fetus were in danger of death, did the midwives call for help from a male surgeon, who most often used a fetal-destroying operation. In addition, the surgeon was not invited to every woman in labor, but mainly to wealthy women. The rest were satisfied with the help of the “grandmother” and, instead of actual obstetric care, received from them spoken water or an amulet. It is not surprising that with such assistance and failure to comply with basic hygiene requirements, mortality during childbirth and the postpartum period was very high. Correction of fetal malposition by rotation, a great achievement of antiquity, was forgotten or not used by most doctors.
Founder of gynecology in Russia. Development of domestic obstetrics and gynecology
In Russia, the emergence of obstetrics dates back to the mid-18th century, but this was preceded by a centuries-old pre-scientific period. Assistance during childbirth was usually provided by healers and midwives (to midwife meant to receive a baby), who had only random information and primitive skills. The first laws concerning the activities of midwives were issued by Peter I and were caused by the economic interests of the state (huge infant mortality, declining birth rates). The state of obstetric care worried the leading people of Russia and was reflected in their works. So the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov, in his letter “On the Reproduction and Preservation of the Russian People” (1761), considered it necessary to “compose instructions in the Russian language” on the art of midwifery, and organize “almshouses” for illegitimate children. A significant role in the training of midwives and the teaching of obstetrics belongs to the outstanding organizer of military medicine and healthcare in Russia P.Z. Condoidi (1720 - 1760). At his suggestion, the Senate was issued, according to which in 1757 the first “babichi” schools for training midwives were opened in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Teaching in schools consisted of a three-year theoretical course in midwifery and practical classes, conducted in German and Russian. P.Z. Kondoidi created the country's first public medical library at the Medical Chancellery, and obtained permission to send Russian doctors abroad for improvement and preparation for teaching work. The first obstetric institutions in Russia were opened in Moscow (1764) and St. Petersburg (1771) in the form of midwifery departments with 20 beds. The founder of domestic obstetrics is N.M. Maksimovich - Ambodik (1744-1812). He wrote the first manual on obstetrics in Russian, “The Art of Midwifery, or the Science of Womanhood” (*1764 - 1786). He introduced the teaching of obstetrics in Russian, conducted classes at the bedside of women in labor or on a phantom, and introduced obstetric forceps into practice. In 1782, he was the first Russian doctor to be awarded the title of professor of obstetrics. Being an encyclopedist scientist, he left fundamental works on botany and pharmacognosy, and founded Russian medical terminology.
The formation of obstetrics and gynecology as independent clinical disciplines. Obstetrics and gynecology in the Middle Ages and Modern times
During the classical Middle Ages, scholasticism dominated in Western Europe, and universities were mainly engaged in the compilation and commentary of individual manuscripts of ancient authors. The period of oppression of progressive thought in medicine lasted for about fifteen centuries. Numerous wars of the Middle Ages contributed to the development of surgery; academic scholastic medicine was useless during hostilities; doctors were needed there who were able to accumulate surgical experience, use it and pass it on to others. However, it was during this period that the first universities began to emerge, which trained doctors, and the hospital form of medical care finally took shape.
The valuable empirical heritage of the ancient world was preserved and enriched by the doctors and philosophers of the medieval East. Little is known about the medicine of the pre-Islamic period of medieval Arab history. Subsequently, it, like the entire culture of the Arab world, developed in accordance with and within the framework of the ideology of Islam, reaching in the 9th-10th centuries. highest bloom. Arab and Central Asian doctors enriched practical medicine with new observations, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic agents. The literary heritage of Arab and Central Asian doctors contains many completely rational recommendations on the hygiene and nutrition of pregnant women, the care of newborns and infants, and their feeding.
In Russia, not only in villages or towns, but also in the capital, royal and boyar wives gave birth in most cases with the help of midwives, whose level of medical knowledge was low. Foreign doctors invited to Moscow to the royal court also had poor obstetric skills. Many of them went to Muscovy for the purpose of personal gain.
In Rus', women who helped a woman in labor were called grandmothers-midwives, or midwives. In most cases, they were invited during difficult births; in easy cases, they were invited after birth to ligate the umbilical cord and swaddle the newborn. Also, midwives have performed established customs and spells since ancient times.
During the Renaissance, the development of scientific anatomy and physiological knowledge created the prerequisites for the development of scientific obstetrics and gynecology. Both of these directions from ancient times until the 19th century. were not divided, the doctrine of female diseases was an integral part of the doctrine of obstetrics. The first extensive manual in Western Europe, “On Women's Diseases” (“De mulieram affectionibus”), was compiled in 1579 by Luis Mercado. - Professor at the University of Toledo (Spain). Of great importance for the development of obstetrics and gynecology was the activity of Ambroise Paré, who, without receiving a medical education and without a medical title, became a surgeon and obstetrician at the king’s court. The great Frenchman gave new life to the rotation of the fetus after several hundred years of oblivion and resumed the practice of Caesarean section upon the death of a woman in labor. Paré introduced gynecological speculum into widespread practice and organized the first obstetric department and the first midwifery school in Europe at the Hotel-Dieu hospital in Paris. At first only women were accepted into it; The training lasted three months, of which six weeks were devoted to practical training. A. Paré's students were the outstanding French surgeon and obstetrician J. Guillemot (1550-1613) and the very popular midwife L. Bourgeois (1563-1636) - author of the book “On Fertility, Infertility, Childbirth and Diseases of Women and Newborns” (1609).
