|
Description:
|
An image showing a fetus in the uterus in the eighth or ninth month of a pregnancy. A cross section of the uterus (A) can be seen, with the front section removed. This shows the fetus, the placenta (K), and the umbilical cord (M, here called the funis). Also shown is part of the pelvis and the coccyx. The text describes the parts shown in the image and how they change during pregnancy. The book this is taken from contains a series of plates showing pregnancy up to full term and labour, along with difficult presentations. Each plate has a page of text to describe it, and references to the authors' other books on midwifery. The book offered instruction and advice on delivery, but explained complications and the processes of pregnancy and birth by focusing on anatomy. When this volume was published, the role of traditional midwives and man-midwives was strongly contested, and relatively little work was being done on understanding pregnancy and childbirth. Anatomy, however, was a highly respected scientific subject, and the publication of a volume on pregnancy based in anatomy helped to raise the profile of both men-midwives and the study of childbirth in medicine.
|
