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Racial health disparities are tightly linked to the longstanding and pervasive institution of racism. Efforts to reverse disparities begin with awareness and accountability through education. The health care workforce must be formally educated about racist practices, tools, and ideologies that perpetuate poor health outcomes. This article explores prior efforts to integrate race didactics into medical school education, addresses current legislation, and illuminates lessons learned from a single institution pilot curriculum exploring the history of racism in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Educating medical school students about the history of racism is an important and necessary tool for positive change., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Introduction: The formative period of the specialty of gynecologic oncology was from 1968 to 1972 and became a board-certified specialty in 1973. During this formation there were no Black physicians participating in this process. We chronicle and document the incorporation of the first three board-certified Black physicians in the specialty of gynecologic oncology here for historical purposes., Methods: We highlight the hostile climate experienced by Black physicians before and during the formation of gynecologic oncology, review the acceptance and training of the first three Black physicians in the specialty and recognize their significant contributions to the field., Results: The biographies and the narrative of these men describe their impact and contribution to medicine. We chronicle the historic presence of the first board-certified Black gynecologic oncologists and pelvic surgeons in the United States., Conclusion: These three men represent the Black Founding Fathers of gynecologic oncology. Their perseverance in the face of adversity and commitment to excellence have left an indelible impact on the institutions that they developed, the individuals that they trained, and the patients that they served., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Islamic Golden Age was the time in history from eighth to fourteenth century. This era was marked by expansion of Islamic world to all the Middle East, North Africa, South and East Europe, and Central Asia. The Islamic world was the wealthiest region in the world at that time and that wealth was utilized to promote great flourishing in the arts, philosophy, science, and medicine. The practice of healing was considered the most noble of human undertakings by Islamic scholars. In this era, many great physician-scientists emerged in the Islamic world, albeit several were not Muslims, who examined prior writings, corrected many, and proceeded to produce their own observations and innovations. This article highlights some of the most important contributions to gynecology of some prominent scholars during this shining phase of medical history., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The purpose of the study is to investigate material culture of obstetrics in New and Modern history of Russia. The most important objective of research is to involve into scientific circulation Russian empirical material in order to study transformation of culture of childbirth during transition from traditional to biomedical model of childbirth exemplified by material culture items (maternity beds, chairs, armchairs). The key approaches were those of historical anthropology, social history of medicine, theory of social control and medicalization. The methods of content analysis, narrative and interpretive analysis were applied to analyze empirical data. In the Russian folk tradition included no such special devices as maternity beds and birth chairs that was explained by dominance of vertical maternity pose. The first birth chairs were brought into Russia by foreign midwives. With development of clinical obstetrics horizontal position of woman in labor was approving that was conditioned by convenience of physicians. Since last quarter of the XIX century, Russian physicians began to experiment, inventing most convenient version of maternity beds and gynecological chairs. The Soviet system of obstetrics was mass and publicly accessible, but consolidated technocratic model of childbirth. In maternity wards, the "Rakhmanov obstetric bed" became widespread. The chairs were not used during childbirth, being used exclusively in gynecology. The material culture of Soviet maternity hospitals turned out to be extremely stable and conservative. In modern Russian obstetrics, with transition to holistic model of childbirth and actualization of free positioning of woman in labor, transformer beds and fitballs began to be applied to provide optimal course of birth process. The material culture of obstetrics is closely related to dominant type of maternity culture.

Four historical events provide context for racial injustices and inequities in medicine in the United States today: the invention of race as a social construct, enslavement in the Americas, the legal doctrine of Partus sequitur ventrem, and the American eugenics movement. This narrative review demonstrates how these race-based systems resulted in stereotypes, myths, and biases against Black individuals that contribute to health inequities today. Education on the effect of slavery in current health care outcomes may prevent false explanations for inequities based on stereotypes and biases. These historical events validate the need for medicine to move away from practicing race-based medicine and instead aim to understand the intersectionality of sex, race, and other social constructs in affecting the health of patients today., Competing Interests: Financial Disclosure The author did not report any potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Diagnostic ultrasound in obstetrics and gynaecology has experienced a fantastic evolution during the past seven decades. Initial steps with A-mode technology were followed by B-mode and B-mode real-time imaging, then by Doppler and colour Doppler ultrasound, and finally by 3D/4D ultrasound. Other evolutionary steps were the development of high-resolution transabdominal and transvaginal transducers providing high quality images in the first, second and third trimesters of pregancy, as well as in gynaecology and breast imaging.The progression from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional ultrasound (3D) and 3D real-time imaging (4D) has brought new options in displaying anatomical structures. In comparison with CT or MRI, it is not a static but functional technique, cheap and safe, and applicable at any time.

Introduction: The Marburg Museum Anatomicum displays a number of unique specimens related to obstetric problems. An ethically intensely disputed example is the bisected body of a pregnant woman and her fetus. Current information stemming from previous publications relates it to a fictional young woman who, who, having got pregnant by a student, committed suicide. This narrative was derived from a novel by the author Walter Bloem (1868-1951), orally transmitted without further proof of reliability. The present study attempts to uncover the true background beyond this narrative and to clarify the acquisition of the body by the anatomical collection and its personal background., Sources and Methods: Archival material as well as contemporary publications of professors of obstetrics and of anatomy along with data derived from civil and ecclesiastic registry offices were evaluated and compared with observations on the specimen., Findings: Comparison of data derived from the fictional description and observations on the specimen showed significant differences, excluding the narrative as a reliable source. Closer examination of the scientific output of former chairs of obstetrics showed that Professor Wilhelm Zangemeister (1871-1930), head of the clinics of gynecology and obstetrics between 1910 and 1925, published several studies on the clinical significance of narrow pelvis during delivery. In his textbook of obstetrics, published in 1927, he showed an illustration of a frozen section of a pregnant woman with kyphosis who had died from myocarditis. The drawing clearly represents the specimen, having been mounted in a large glass vessel in 1922 and included in the collection of the Anatomical Institute., Conclusions: The current narrative on the bisected body of a pregnant woman and her fetus preserved in the Marburg Museum Anatomicum has nothing to do with the specimen in the collection. In fact, the latter was prepared in 1922 by order of the former professor of obstetrics, Wilhelm Zangemeister, who later published the case in his textbook of obstetrics. The ethical consequences of the changing ontological status and origin of the specimen and its public display are discussed., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The history of the modern Italian gynecology is closely related to the figure of an enlightened clinician and passionate master, Luigi Mangiagalli (1850-1928), who, with good reason, can be considered one of the fathers of this discipline. In 1906, Mangiagalli founded the Obstetric-Gynecological Institute in Milan, directing this structure until 1925. The aim of this paper is to describe some aspects of Italian gynecology at the beginnings of the twentieth century through the analysis of 250 original medical records, dating back to the years 1906-1912, fragments of real life of women, midwives and doctors in a pioneering era of obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr. James Marion Sims has been heralded as the "father of modern gynecology" for his groundbreaking surgical technique to repair post-partum vesicovaginal fistulas (VVF); however, the ethical concerns around his inhumane practices and the contributions of the enslaved women he refined his technique on are rarely recognized. Acknowledging the personal sacrifice of the enslaved women and addressing the truth behind the immoral practices of Sims, encourages reconciliation of the race-based medical atrocities of the past and sets the tone for moral, more equitable medical care moving forward., (© 2021. Society for Reproductive Investigation.)

This article analyzes expert debates relating to abortion in Poland between 1956 and 1993, a period when the procedure was legal and accessible. Through the pages of the primary Polish journal for gynecology and obstetrics, Ginekologia Polska, the author traces continuities and ruptures around three major intersecting themes: the procedure's indications, its (dis)connection to health, and the patient-doctor relationship. The journal became a forum showcasing interpretative tensions over indications for abortion and the malleability of the categories "therapeutic" and "social." In addition to these tensions, abortion was represented throughout this period as a potentially risky surgery, although this was initially nuanced with parallel representations of legal abortion combating maternal mortality. During the 1970s, abortion began to be linked to infertility, often in simplistic cause-and-effect terms. Simultaneously, opposition to abortion based on the idea of defense of the nation and fetal "life," surfaced in expert discourse.

This article discusses the structuring of the Hospital of Gynecology in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, which was founded by the gynecologist Clóvis Salgado in 1939 as part of efforts to control cervical cancer. Created as a space for practical teaching in the School of Medicine, the hospital was a pioneer in introducing colposcopy in the state and establishing a structure specifically for care and diagnosis. This analysis investigates how promoting and attempting to assert diagnostic technologies were important in organizing this institution and its professional staff. The hospital firmly established itself in terms of activities to control cervical cancer by disseminating colposcopy as a technique, establishing dialogs with similar national institutions, and participating in exchanges with German science.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Previously were published well-known data on Rijeka physician, Dr Ljubica Bosner, about her work in the Ogulin, Bjelovar, Petrinja and Rijeka hospitals during her excellent surgical and gynaecological and obstetric practice. The new and now accessible archives of personal and professional items complete incomplete and unknown biographical information. After her internship, Dr Bosner worked at a public county hospital in Velika Gorica as a secondary doctor at a well-known orthopaedic ward of that hospital. Circumstances of going to the Ogulin hospital with an oath to the reigning King Peter II for fidelity, then her professional activity as a surgeon at the newly opened Foundation Hospital Rebro Zagreb, with occasional departures to the position of director of the hospital and surgeon in Petrinja and Varaždin, and after the war to new positions at the Regional People's Board in Istria, are of particular social and historical interest. Recommendations from her bosses have been found to recognise the profession of surgeon specialist that particularly emphasise her skills, clinical judgment, and performance of major surgical procedures, especially during the war. Her life and medical career went through periods of great crisis between the two world wars (during the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), then World War II (during the Independent State of Croatia), and after the war and the Republic of Yugoslavia in which she acted as a surgeon. The above data in the biography of Dr Ljubica Bosner are completed by previously unknown and unpublished photographs from her personal and professional surgical life.

Objective: Current estimates of endometriosis prevalence and incidence are highly variable, leading to uncertainty regarding true endometriosis frequency or validity of quantified changes over time. We present a comprehensive review of the prevalence, incidence, and stage of endometriosis worldwide as reported over the past 30 years., Data Sources: We conducted a systematic search of observational studies using the PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases to identify research papers published in English between January 1989 and June 2019. Search terminologies were limited to titles containing endometriosis and prevalence or incidence, or epidemiology, or frequency, or occurrence, or statistics., Methods of Study Selection: Two independent reviewers screened abstracts for study eligibility, and data from included studies were abstracted., Tabulation, Integration, and Results: Overall, 69 studies describing the prevalence and/or incidence of endometriosis met the inclusion criteria. Among these, 26 studies involved general population samples, 17 of which were from regional/national hospitals or insurance claims systems. The other 43 studies were conducted in single clinic or hospital settings. Prevalence estimates for endometriosis widely varied from 0.2% to 71.4% depending on the population sampled. The prevalence reported in general population studies ranged from 0.7% to 8.6%, whereas that reported in single clinic- or hospital-based studies ranged from 0.2% to 71.4%. When defined by indications for diagnosis, endometriosis prevalence ranged from 15.4% to 71.4% among women with chronic pelvic pain, 9.0% to 68.0% among women presenting with infertility, and 3.7% to 43.3% among women undergoing tubal sterilization. A meta-regression was conducted with year as the predictor of prevalence. No trend across time was observed among "general population in country/region" studies (β = 0.04, p = .12) or among "single hospital or clinic" studies (β = -0.02, p = .34); however, a decrease over time was observed among general population studies abstracted from health systems or insurance systems (β = -0.10, p = .005)., Conclusion: As with all human studies, population sampling and study design matter. Heterogeneity of inclusion and diagnostic criteria and selection bias overwhelmingly account for variability in endometriosis prevalence estimated across the literature. Thus, it is difficult to conclude if the lack of observed change in frequency and distribution of endometriosis over the past 30 years is valid., (Copyright © 2019 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

During the "Third Reich," the majority of German gynecologists and obstetricians did not hesitate to put themselves at the service of those in power. In 1933, many gynecologists initially only focused on the fact that the biopolitical objectives of the National Socialists matched their own long-standing demands for population policy measures and the early detection and prevention of cancer. In addition, cooperating with the Nazis promised the political advancement of the profession, personal advantages, and the honorary title of Volksgesundheitsführer (national health leaders). As a result, gynecologists exchanged resources with the regime and thus contributed significantly to the implementation of the criminal racial policies of the Nazis. At the congresses of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie (German Society of Gynecology) "non-Aryan" members, mostly of Jewish descent, were excluded, the law on forced sterilization of 1933 (Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses/Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases) was scientifically legitimized, its implementation was propagated, and relevant surgical techniques were discussed with regard to their "certainty of success." In the course of these forced sterilizations, existing pregnancies were also terminated and the victims were misused for illegal scientific examinations or experiments. Drawing upon racial and utilitarian considerations, gynecologists did not even shy away from carrying out late abortions on forced laborers from the East during the Second World War, which were strictly prohibited even under the laws of the time. Some gynecologists carried out cruel experiments on humans in concentration camps, which primarily served their own careers and the biopolitical goals of those in power. The few times gynecologists did protest or resist was when the very interests of their profession seemed threatened, as in the dispute over home births and the rights of midwives. Social gynecological initiatives from the Weimar Republic, which were mainly supported and carried out by gynecologists persecuted for their Jewish descent since 1933, were either converted into National Socialist "education programs" or simply came to an end due to the exclusion of their initiators. German gynecologists had hoped for a large-scale promotion of the early detection of malignant diseases of the uterus and breasts, to which they had already made important contributions since the beginning of the 20th century. But even though the fight against cancer was allegedly one of the priorities of the Nazis, no comprehensive measures were taken. Still, a few locally limited initiatives to this end proved to be successful until well into the Second World War. In addition, German gynecologists established the modern concept of prenatal care and continued to advance endocrinological research and sterility therapy. After the end of the Nazi dictatorship, the historical guilt piled up during this period was suppressed and denied for decades. Its revision and processing only began in the 1990s., (© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Trotula de Ruggiero is supposed to be one of the first female physician of the history, or at least the first who practiced, taught, and wrote medical texts inside the illustrious medieval Medical School of Salerno around the XI-XII centuries. Here we retrace the steps of her fascinating history from historical cues to legendary anecdotes, through the analysis of the medical texts which were ascribed to her in the Middle Ages and that were very popular around Europe for several centuries, prevalently dealing with all the aspects of women's medical problems, with a focus on dermatology, cosmetic science, and obstetrics/gynecology., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Male arrogance, medical ignorance of anatomy and functioning of the human genitals, and social reservations about sex education have hampered urological and gynecological research since the 1920s. This changed under the premises of National Socialism when some physicians willing to cooperate were given the opportunity to perform human experiments. The gynecologist Boris Belonoschkin was one of them. He continued his career in Sweden after 1945, where he became an internationally respected scholar. As such, he was able to bring books of his former German colleagues to international attention again. He also promoted andrological research in Western Germany.

Women have long been underrepresented in medicine and urology, and thus also in the history of medicine and urology. However, within the last 10 years there has been an increase in the focus on gender studies, including the relevant topics within the history of science. Within urology the difficult pathway for women to enter the job in Austria could be analysed, which now allows them to be included in the general culture of remembrance. Within the education process of students, these topics were often dedicated little time and ignored in research.

A recent article supports our longstanding view that all intramural fibroids can cause disturbance of uterine function. This may be reflected in the symptom of menorrhagia or fertility-related issues, as well as pregnancy losses at all gestational stages. However, it was disappointing that there was no reference to either the mechanism by which fibroids disturb uterine function nor to the gynaecologist who described this more than 100 years ago, namely John Sampson. In fact, Sampson's findings about the unique venous drainage mechanism from the endometrium explains how menstrual loss is contained in normal physiology, but which can be excessive when the protective 'anaemic' zone is disturbed. Two more recent and pertinent observations include the hysteroscopic findings of Osamu Sugimoto, who showed in the 1970s that the endometrium overlying submucous fibroids is actually atrophic, hence the oft-cited reason of hyperplastic or excessive endometrium cannot be the cause of the associated menorrhagia. Furthermore, recent imaging techniques describe an additional 'junctional zone' adjacent to the endometrium in cases of fibroids and adenomyosis. We believe this all adds up to disturbed venous drainage as described by Sampson and needs to immediately enter the educational training of medical students, doctors and gynaecologists worldwide., (Copyright © 2019 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This review provides a fresh perspective on the work of J. Marion Sims, an Antebellum era physician who invented the vaginally speculum that bears his name. His accent to become the "Father of Modern Gynecology" was his groundbreaking development of the surgical techniques for the repair for vesicovaginal fistula. Recent scholarship, however, has pointed to the dark side of Sims in that his techniques were perfected through his use of Black slave women as his research subjects. In addition, he has been criticized for his failure to use anesthesia during his research operations. This article argues that Sims's work needs to be understood in a broader historical context and within the broader framework of other forms of human experimentation that took place in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. There is a strong argument that recent attempts to remove Sims from history also have the unintended consequence of removing the contributions of not only the Black slave women who were his subjects in the development of modern obstetrical medicine, but the important role Blacks played in the development of other medical procedures., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic condition, affecting approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women. It commonly presents with pelvic pain, painful periods, and infertility and can significantly have an impact on one's quality of life. Early exploration into the pathophysiology of this condition identified race as a risk factor for endometriosis, with the condition predominantly identified in white women. It is still unclear whether there is a biological basis for this conviction or whether it can be explained by methodological and social bias that existed in the literature at that time. Although there is more recent literature exploring the association between endometriosis and race/ethnicity, studies have continued to focus on the prevalence of disease and have not taken into account possible variation in disease presentation among women of different ethnicities. Furthermore, information on diverse populations by race/ethnicity, other than white or black, is quite limited. This paper explores the history of how the association between endometriosis and whiteness was established and whether we still ascribe to a certain stereotype of a typical endometriosis patient today. Furthermore, we discuss the potential implications of such a racial bias on patient care and suggest areas of focus to achieve a personalized and patient focused approach in endometriosis care., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Because of long history and excellent medical skills, the Song gynecology is regarded as one of the "four great masters" of the gynecology in Zhejiang province. The monographs survived of Song gynecology are at least four, besides the earliest one Songshi Nüke Cuoyao (, Synopsis of Song ' s Gynecology )(1612), there is Songshi Bochuan Chanke Quanshu (, Complete Treatise on Gynecology of Song Bochuan ), Songshi Nüke Chanhou Pian (, Chapter of Puerperal Disease from Song ' s Gynecology ), which are formed in Qing dynasty, and Linzheng Lu (, Clinical Records ) formed in the Republic of China era.And Jingli Songshi Nüke (, Meticulously Sort Out Song ' s Gynecology ), which might belong to School of Song's gynecology, and Nüke Milu (, Secretive Records of Gynecology ) were found in records. This paper excavates and sorts these 6 Song's gynecological monographs, carries out in-depth research on the changes of editions, spread and origins, and clarify the general situation of song's gynecological monographs.