Kurt Semm and an automatic insufflator

Work on tubal insufflation marked the beginning of Kurt Semm's (b. 1927) scientific career. In the early 1960s, he directed his attention to the fact that, from a technical standpoint, tubal insufflation was similar to creating pneumoperitoneum. In the mid-1960s, Semm--himself a gynecologist--investiged his time and financial resources and risked his university career to develop an automatic abdominal insufflation device. Later he tried it out in the Clinic for Internal Medicine. Since, at that time, the term "laparoscopy" had negative connotations associated with it, Semm formulated a new term "pelviscopy." In 1967, Semm presented his invention to Melvin Cohen, an American pioneer of gynecological laparoscopy, at the meeting of the American Fertility Society, held in Washington.

Exposure of the operative field in laparoscopic surgery

Endoscopic surgery, as a result of over 90 years of investigation, has now become the most innovative part of general surgery; every procedure in the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavity, intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal, has been reviewed for feasibility. The basic principles in the management of surgical patients, however, have not changed: adequate exposure and good lighting remain important and may become more important with endoscopic techniques. Historical review shows the dependence of advances in laparoscopy upon technical development in the field of intraabdominal exposure as the result of two objectives: namely abdominal wall displacement and bowel retraction.

[Radiodiagnosis in obstetrics and gynecology]

Immediately after Röntgen's discovery, people started trying to find uses for the new rays in gynecology and obstetrics. Although the first reports date from 1896-97, even in the 1920's there were textbooks to be found without any mention of the use of radiology in both areas of medicine. The availability of reliable contrast media led to the development of new imaging techniques and to the golden age of obstetrical and gynecological radiology in the 1930-1970 period. Nowadays ultrasound has replaced most conventional techniques while MRI is becoming more and more important. A historical overview of the different radiological techniques is provided.