Medical morals, illustrated with plates and extracts from medical works : designed to show the pernicious social and moral influence of the present system of medical practice, and the importance of establishing female medical colleges, and educating and employing female physicians for their own sex / by George Gregory.
- George Gregory
- Date:
- 1852
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Medical morals, illustrated with plates and extracts from medical works : designed to show the pernicious social and moral influence of the present system of medical practice, and the importance of establishing female medical colleges, and educating and employing female physicians for their own sex / by George Gregory. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
25/52
![natural position, and the accoucheur cannot be mistaken. The mode of proceeding is as follows : the female stands erect; her back, sup- ported by some vertical plane, should remain motionless during the operation ; her legs are separated, and the pelvis carried forward; the hands hang down, or are gently crossed on the abdomen; and the whole form should be perfectly at ease. The accoucheur then oils the index finger of one hand, introduces it by the posterior com- missure within the vagina, passes it up to the neck of the uterus, which is generally situated to the right and backward ; by examining carefully, he determines its extent and size, its degree of resistance and flaccidity ; if the os tincai be open, the end of the finger is care- fully introduced to judge how much it is shortened, and thus to determine the period of pregnancy. While the accoucheur thus passes the index finger within the vagina, he must place the palm of the opposite hand on the abdomen to judge of the changes produced by the progress and development of pregnancy, in the figure and size of the uterus. Of Touching — the Female reclining. [See plate, page 25.] The mode of touching while the female is reclining differs a little from that, just mentioned, and must be practised whenever the preceding mode would not afford the same results. It is most advantageous during the first three or four months of pregnancy. During labor, both methods can be employed with the same success; but after parturi- tion, and during the period of lying-in, the female to be touched must always be in a horizontal posture, and consequently lying down. In order to practise it successfully, the head of the female must be gently flexed on the chest, the legs upon the thighs, which are slightly separated. The accoucheur should stand on the right side of the female if he touches with the right hand, and vice versa if the left hand be used; the index finger of one hand is introduced into the vagina, as before, and the other hand is placed on the abdomen. But as the neck exhibits no indication of pregnancy until the fourth month, he must merely raise the body of the uterus, balancing it slightly between the two hands, while he executes the operation. No advantage can be derived from placing the hand upon the abdomen during labor ; the finger introduced into the vagina is alone sufficient to make known whatever precedes and accompanies the termination of labor. This is not the case, however, after the child is born, and during lying-in. In the latter ease, it is often necessary](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2112422x_0025.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
