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EMR >> EMR Specialty
Obstetrics Gynecology
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Obstetrics Gynaecology
Obstetrics (from the Latin obstare, "to stand by")
is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman
and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the
puerperium (the period shortly after birth). Almost all
modern obstetricians are also gynaecologists.
Gynaecology (British) or gynecology (North
American) literally means 'the science of women', but in
medicine this is the specialty of diseases of the female
reproductive system (uterus, vagina and ovaries). Almost all
modern gynaecologists are also obstetricians.
Gynaecology is typically a consultant specialty. In most
countries, women must see a general practitioner first. If
their condition requires knowledge or equipment unavailable
to the GP, they are referred to a gynaecologist. However, in
the United States, law and many health insurance plans allow
gynaecologists to provide primary care, and some women
select that option.
As in all of medicine, the main tools of diagnosis are
clinical history and examination. Gynaecological examination
is special in that it is quite intimate, and that it
involves special equipment -- the speculum. The speculum
consists of two hinged blades of flat metal, which are used
to open the vagina, to permit examination of the cervix
uteri. Gynaecologists may also do a bimanual examination
(one hand on the abdomen, two fingers in the vagina), to
palpate the uterus and ovaries. They may occasionally do a
rectal exam. Male gynaecologists often have a female
chaperone (nurse or medical student) for their examination.
Virgins are not usually examined vaginally. An abdominal
ultrasound is used normally to confirm the bimanual
examination.
The Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of
Virginia School of Medicine recommends that surgical
devices, such as gloves, that with dusting powders,
including talc, shouldn't be used during surgery because of
acute & chronic problems that may occure if it finds its way
into adominal cavity via the vagina. It also makes an
analogy to condoms which have the very same dusting powders
used on them.
Occasionally gynaecologists will use drugs, such as
clomiphene (which stimulates ovulation), and, most famously,
oral contraceptives (which are also used for dysmenorrhoea).
Surgery, however, is the mainstay of gynaelogical therapy.
For historical reasons, gynaecologists are not usually
considered "surgeons" - this has always been the source of
some controversy - though modern advancements in both fields
have blurred many of the once rigid lines of distinction.
The rise of sub-speciatlies within gynaecology which are
primarily surgical in nature (for example, urogynaecology
and gynecological oncology) have stregthened the reputations
of gynaecologists as surgical practitioners, and many
surgeons and surgical societies have come to view
gynaecologists as comrades of sorts. As proof of this
changing attitude, gynaecologists are now eligible for
fellowship in both the American and Royal Colleges of
Surgerons, and many newer surgical textbooks include
chapters on (at least basic) gynecological surgery.
Source: Wikipedia contributors (2005). Obstetrics &
Gynecology. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved
12:08, December 26, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Obstetrics&oldid=31845945.
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