Perineology is a speciality dealing with the functional troubles of the three axes (

urological Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive organ ...

gynaecological Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

and coloproctological) of the female

perineum The perineum in humans is the space between the anus and scrotum in the male, or between the anus and the vulva in the female. The perineum is the region of the body between the pubic symphysis (pubic arch) and the coccyx (tail bone), includi ...

. The perineologist takes a

holistic approach Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED O ...

, using defect-specific and mini-invasive treatments.

History of the term

The word perineology represents a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

. It was invented for the occasion of the 1st International Symposium on Perineology, held in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1990 to reflect an integrated view of the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the pelvic floor. It was popularized by the Italian journal Rivista Italiana di Colon-Proctologia. Some physicians in France and Italy prefer to use the broader term “pelviperineology”, which reflect a broader multidisciplinary approach to all the aspects of the management of the pelvic floor. In 2010, an International Society for Pelviperineology was formed.

References

{{reflist

External links

European Perineology Group - GEP
Up to date information about this new speciality by the group who has defined the concept.
Pelviperineology
The

Open Access Journal Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

who consider all the compartments of the pelvis and of the perineum, with the body around and the mind above, as a single unit. Gynaecology Urology