Biomedical subjects
M Thiery
Publications and source records attributed to M Thiery.
Het gynecologische onderzoek volgens Marion Sims (1873).
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Immediate postplacental insertion and fixation of the CuFix postpartum implant system.
Since promising results were obtained with the CuFix interval implant system in international clinical trials conducted worldwide, a modification of the device adapting it for immediate postplacental insertion and fixation (IPPIF) seemed a logical approach to solve the expulsion problem of IUDs inserted at that particular time. Seventy-three insertions were performed at three university centers, during 1990 and 1991, both by skilled and unskilled investigators. The results of this multicenter study show the excellent retainability of the modified IUD supporting the validity of the anchoring principle. The insertion procedure is easy, requiring minimal training, and the insertion technique appeared to be safe.
[Vesalius and the anatomy of the female genital tract].
Some of Vesalius' books allow us to clarify his knowledge of the anatomy of the female genital tract. We distinguish chronologically his Tabulae anatomicae sex (1538), the Fabrica (1543), the Letter on Chynaroot (1546), the Fabrica II (1555) and his letter to Falloppio (1564). The whole of these writings gives us an overview of the evolution of the insight concerning this important chapter of human anatomy. Anno 1538, Vesalius is in several matters Galen's pupil. Let us consider his pictures of the tractus genitalis of man and woman, which unmistakably follow the galenic theory of sexual isomorphism, a delusion to which our Brussels anatomist adhered during all his life. On other points he outdid the "Master" from the very beginning, e.g. as to the structure of the uterus. In this matter he followed da Carpi (1470-1550), his immediate predecessor and the man who pictured a woman's womb as "Uterus simplex". But even in this matter, Vesalius could not separate himself completely from the antique scheme: near the fundus uteri he draws two "ears" or cornua wherein he lets the oviducts discharge themselves, mythical structures that will disappear from his pictures, from 1543 on. The epididymis-like structure of the oviducts will nevertheless be maintained. The chapters 15 to 17 of the fifth book of the Fabrica stand centrally because herein it is the first time that these parts are systematically and thoroughly described; moreover, the pictoral aspect means a great renovation. Before Vesalius, no anatomist had ever published such detailed and artistic pictures of the female organs. But knowing that text and illustration were made at the dissection table, we should consider the author's mistakes as more conspicuous. Thus for instance, the oviduct as vas semen efferens, the structure of which he "saw" in line with Galen's propagation theory. For Vesalius the uterine tube has remained the homologue of the complex canals through which the male seed leaves the body. Another example of an erroneous "observation", inspired by the functional theories of his predecessors, is the imagined connection of blood-vessels between the female internal organs and the breasts. The needlessly complicated terminology and Vesalius' describing and paraphrasing anatomical nomenclature are not very favourable to an easy reading of this works. His classification of the parts of the genital tract is confusing, the more as it is not consistent. We already said that Vesalius attributes but one cavity to woman's uterus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
[Embryotomy. A historical review].
Destructive operations are the oldest type of bloody operation in obstetrics and possibly in the (written) history of Medicine. The name "embryotomy" is already mentioned in the hippocratic literature. The indication and technique of this "two-tempi" operation (embryotomy or reduction of the fetus and embryulcia or extraction of the reduced foetus) were thoroughly mentioned, described and coded for the first time by Soranos of Ephesos. Soranos was also the first to mention clearly by their names the instruments used. Only the Arabic physicians, especially Albucasim, transmitted to us the first image of their collection of instruments. The author elucidates the many--medical and ethical--aspects relating to embryotomy, which has been practised till after W.W.II.
Obstetric forceps and vectis: the roots.
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Episiotomy repair according to Shute.
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[The inventors of the obstetric forceps and the obstetric lever].
A multiple lineage is proposed for the invention of the obstetric forceps. Having been conceived by a member of the Chamberlen family in fifteenth- or seventeenth-century England, the instrument seems to have been reinvented in Flanders by Jan Palfyn and in Holland by Rogier Roonhuyse. Later, Roonhuyse invented a more effective instrument for coping with the impacted head: the obstetric lever. Palfyn's "Iron Hands" inspired Dussé to produce the "French" forceps which bears his name.
Perinatal mortality in the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (preliminary results).
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Genotyping of macerated stillborn fetuses.
It is generally impossible to collect blood or to culture tissue from a macerated stillborn fetus. Accurate genotyping of such a fetus may, however, be critical for the diagnosis of genetic diseases and appropriate genetic counseling. In the East Flanders Prospective Twin Study, placental tissue of twin and triplet sets, in some of which one or both members were stillborn and macerated, has been stored at -20 degrees C. Of all these fetuses, sex and zygosity could be determined accurately on the placental deoxyribonucleic acid. We tested the possibility of nongenetic changes in deoxyribonucleic acid that result from maceration or tissue degradation over time in storage on placental samples from monochorionic twins in which only one member was stillborn and macerated. The deoxyribonucleic acid variants in these monozygotic twins were identical whether or not either cotwin was macerated. Thus deoxyribonucleic acid variants can be determined accurately on the placental tissue of macerated fetuses, even after prolonged freezing.
Social differences in low birthweight and preterm deliveries in twins.
The relationship between low social class and low birthweight or preterm deliveries is well established in singletons but not in twins. We present a study using all twin deliveries registered in Belgium in 1983 and in Aberdeen between 1951 and 1983. No significant relationship was found between social class and low birthweight, very low birthweight or preterm deliveries in the Belgian sample. In Aberdeen, we found significantly higher rates of low birthweight twins in low social classes. This increase of low birthweight twins in low social classes occurred in Aberdeen during the period 1951-1968, but not in the more recent data.