Antonio Malvasi Andrea Tinelli - Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications

Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...122

Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Antonio Malvasi , Andrea Tinelli and Gian Carlo Di Renzo (eds.) Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications 10.1007/978-3-319-31377-1_1

1. A Brief History of Obstetric Complications

Stefan Iliev Savchev 1, Juan Carlos Bello-Muoz 1, Gian Carlo Di Renzo 2

(1)

Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit Obstetrics Department, Quiron University Hospital Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

(2)

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre for Perinatal and Reproductive Medicine, Santa Maria della Misericordia University Hospiatal, Perugia, Italy

(3)

Department of Ob/Gyn and Center for Perinatal and Reproductive Medicine, Vall dHebron University Hospital, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Gian Carlo Di Renzo

Email:

Luis Cabero Roura (Corresponding author)

Email:

People have been writing about the diseases of women for as long as there has been medical writing. Nearly a fifth of the oldest collections of western medical texts since that attributed to Hippocrates are dedicated to the female body [].

Fig. 1.1

Galen ( a ) and his book ( b ): Galeni.omnia quae exant opera in Latinum sermonem conversa. Juntarum quarta editionem. Venetiis 1565. Folio 360 240, front. Inc.Voll. 11

There exists a significant body of specialized gynecological texts, with more than a hundred chapters produced between the fourth and fifteenth centuries [], the empress unborn child died, and a severe infectious process compromised the patient. Blood mixed with worms poured out from her genitals. So great was the malodour of the environment that all the herbs of India and the known perfumes could achieve nothing; her body smelled as if she had died many days previously. At the same time a high fever gripped her whole body, making it a real pyre. Her condition worsened and her entourage summoned Abbot Arsakiosto give her the Holy Communion. After that, the child was aborted, dead. Her entourage, satisfied, ordered a litany; unfortunately, during the ritual, the empress vomited out her soul. This, of course, had an important impact on the succession line to the throne and, therefore, in history.

Fig. 1.2

Septic abortion

Another matter of truly particular interest to the ancient people was whether or not a woman was capable of becoming or was, indeed, pregnant. In the ancient Egypt [). This misconception was set forward by Egyptian priests who were engaged with sacrifices of bulls to the gods. (They perceived the phallus of the bull as an extension of the spine, since bovine retractor penis muscles are attached to the sacral vertebrae.) Therefore, infertility was more a male nervous condition rather than a female tare. The maternal part in reproduction was unclear since they did not realize that sperm traveled to the uterus and to the tubes, nor did they recognize the ovaries. The female body served as an incubator for the fetus; the uterus was a vessel, but curiously the vital role of the placenta in fetal nourishment was already appreciated.

Fig. 1.3

Ancient Egyptian ( a ) and their concept of male fertility: the semen was believed to originate in the spinal cord ( b )

Just a few from the known methods for pregnancy diagnosis in ancient Egypt have survived to our days a thorough account of the number of matinal vomits and the onion test which consisted in putting an onion deeply into the vagina and checking the womans breath the morning after, thus considering an onion smell as a positive result (Fig. ). No relationship between lack of menses and gestation is described in ancient texts. Consequently, early miscarriage was not taken into account, and pathologies as extrauterine pregnancy were not even considered possible.

Fig. 1.4

Onion test on dilute vaginal discharge morning after, thus considering an onion smell as a positive result

The first description of pregnancy tests comes from the Berlin Papyrus, which also gives instructions for predicting the sex of the fetus: urine from a pregnant woman was poured on grains of barley and emmer wheat. If they sprouted, a pregnancy was confirmed. If barley sprouted first, the fetus was a male. If the emmer wheat sprouted first, it meant a female, and if none grew the pregnancy would fail [].

The correct diagnosis of the early pregnancy complications and their management are fairly recent, bound to the development of modern imaging techniques. We think it would be of readers interest to have a historic perspective of the perceptions and the understanding of ancient physicians about spontaneous abortion, recurrent pregnancy loss (miscarriage), and later ectopic pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease.

1.1 Miscarriage

Ancient cultures have applied a variety of fascinating therapies to prevent the occurrence and reoccurrence of miscarriage. Ceremonies of ritual purification, special prayers, and a variety of medicinal therapies were employed throughout the ages to prevent this feared event. Rituals to memorialize and help mourn the lost pregnancy were developed in many cultures [].

The middle ages saw a big change to the attitude regarding early pregnancy loss, mainly because the interest of physicians, priests, and lawmen throughout was to determine whether there were criminal intentions or not behind the miscarriage. The actual causes of even recurrent miscarriages and the way to prevent or treat them remained largely neglected.

The figure of miscarriage was suspiciously scarcely considered in the nineteenth century. Jackson [].

Fig. 1.5

Detail of Lewis and Clark at Three Forks by Edgar Samuel Paxson, mural in lobby of Montana House of Representatives

Over the past five decades, scholars have begun to document the changing representations and experiences of miscarriage. Sources are thin for womens experiences before the 1960s, so historical conclusions are, by all means, fairly speculative, though well argued [] mentioned Neglecting a threatened abortion is to increase the danger of the ovum being expelled from the uterus and in the case of actual abortions, there is the considerable risk of infection if no care is taken. It was, probably, the first mention of miscarriage as a pathological condition with its inherent risks.

As mentioned above, it was not until the first half of twentieth century when recurrent miscarriage and threatened abortion became medical subjects. The advent of hormones and hormonal therapy for conditions such as diabetes [].

Throughout the last few decades, with the mass implementation of ultrasonography in the practice of gynecology, the diagnosis of nonviable pregnancy became straightforward, and the term missed abortion was added to the medical terminology [].

Next page

1234567...122

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications»

Look at similar books to Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Valerie Dobiesz

Manual of Obstetric Emergencies

Eric A.P. Steegers

Neurology and Pregnancy: Neuro-Obstetric Disorders

James W. Heitz (editor)

Post-Anesthesia Care: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Management

Arthur T. Evans MD

Manual of Obstetrics (Lippincott Manual)

Mary E. Lynch (editor)

Clinical Pain Management: A Practical Guide Second Edition

Antonio Malvasi

Intrapartum Ultrasonography for Labor Management: Labor, Delivery and Puerperium

Steven L. Bloom

Williams Manual of Pregnancy Complications

John Varga

Scleroderma: From Pathogenesis to Comprehensive Management

Ansgar M. Brambrink

Essentials of Neurosurgical Anesthesia & Critical Care: Strategies for Prevention, Early Detection, and Successful Management of Perioperative Complications

Alfred Z. Abuhamad

First Trimester Ultrasound Diagnosis of Fetal Abnormalities

Donald R. Coustan

Medical Management of Pregnancy Complicated by Diabetes

Jack L. Leahy

Medical management of diabetes mellitus

Discussion, reviews of the book Management and Therapy of Early Pregnancy Complications and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.