Gräfenberg's ring is a flexible ring of
silk suture, later versions of which were wrapped in
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
wire. It was an early IUD, a
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
device. Gräfenberg's ring was the first
IUD used by a significant number of women.
The ring was introduced by German gynecologist
Ernst Gräfenberg in 1929. It ceased to be in wide use circa 1939.
Inserting a foreign device into the
uterus
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...
causes an
inflammatory response
Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...
, which creates a hostile environment for
sperm
Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...
.
The silver wire used to construct later versions of Gräfenberg's ring was contaminated with
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
, which increases this
spermicidal effect.
In 1934, Japanese physician
Tenrei Ōta
Tenrei Ōta ( Japanese: ''Ōta Tenrei''), born Takeo Ōta (太田 武夫 ''Ōta Takeo'', 1900–1985) was a Japanese obstetrician-gynaecologist and politician. He invented the Ōta ring, an early intrauterine device (IUD). Throughout his life ...
developed a variation of the Gräfenberg ring that contained a supportive structure in the center. The addition of this central disc lowered the IUD's expulsion rate. However, insertion of these devices caused high rates of infection and were condemned by the medical community.
Furthermore, their use and development was stifled by
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
politics:
contraception
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
was forbidden in both
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and Axis-allied Japan. The rest of the Western world did not learn of the work of Gräfenberg and Ota until well after the war ended.
References
History of medicine
Intrauterine contraception
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