Cusco's Speculum on:
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In gynaecology
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 a ...
, Cusco's self-retaining bivalved speculum is a kind of speculums, used for vaginal
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen. ...
and cervical
In anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings:
# of or pertaining to any neck.
# of or pertaining to the female cervix: i.e., the ''neck'' of the uterus.
*Commonly used medical phrases involving the neck are
**cervical collar
**cervic ...
examinations. It has a jaw that opens up like a duck bill.
The instrument was named after French surgeon Édouard-Gabriel Cusco (1819–1894).
It comes in three models: side screw, centre screw, and special narrow virgin size. Cusco's speculum is usually long and broad. However, smaller and larger sizes are available. Cusco's speculum is used for introducing an intrauterine contraceptive device, taking a Pap smear
The Papanicolaou test (abbreviated as Pap test, also known as Pap smear (AE), cervical smear (BE), cervical screening (BE), or smear test (BE)) is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in t ...
, cauterization
Cauterization (or cauterisation, or cautery) is a medical practice or technique of burning a part of a body to remove or close off a part of it. It destroys some tissue in an attempt to mitigate bleeding and damage, remove an undesired growth, ...
of vaginal erosion, and colposcopic examination. It is preferred in cryosurgery
Cryosurgery is the use of extreme cold in surgery to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue; thus, it is the surgical application of cryoablation. The term comes from the Greek words cryo (κρύο) ("icy cold") and surgery (''cheirourgiki'' – � ...
because it protects the anterior and posterior vaginal wall. The advantage of Cusco's speculum is that it is self-retaining. Therefore, an assistant's help is not needed to keep the speculum in place. It also acts as the vaginal wall retractor. However, it reduces the space in the vaginal cavity and therefore is not a preferred instrument for vaginal surgery
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...
. Because it covers most of the vaginal wall, small lesions
A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals.
Types
There is no designated classif ...
on the vaginal wall may be masked by the blades of the device.
References
{{reflist Surgical instruments Gynaecology