University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Birth Control
Family Planning
Contraceptive Devices, Female
Classification
Birth Control
Family Planning
Contraceptive Devices, Female
Accession Number
1988.7.1
Description
Two flexiblegold wires terminating in broad, blunt tips are held together for half their length by a spiral of wire and are mounted on a thin disk; gold wishbone intrauterine device, wishbone stem pessary.
Two flexiblegold wires terminating in broad, blunt tips are held together for half their length by a spiral of wire and are mounted on a thin disk; gold wishbone intrauterine device, wishbone stem pessary.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Acquired from the Academy of Medicine; source: Dr. M. Bryant; belonged to his uncle, Dr. Cullen Bryant.
Dates
1900
1930
circa 1900-1930
Material
metal: yellow; black
Inscriptions
On underside of disk: "14 KT GOLD"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-B2-3 Row D
Dimension Notes
Length 5.3 cm x Diam. 2.5 cm
Condition Remarks
#2 There was a black discolouration at the centre of the base and along the spiralling centre, possibly from wear; #3: tarnish and wear on metal surfaces, particularly on coiled column.
Created in Germany in around 1880. Began being used as a contraceptive in the late 1800s. Flat end of the stem pessary sat against the vaginal wall with the stem protruding into the uterus through the cervix. Stem pessaries were listed in medical catalogues until the 1930s until they were gradually surpassed by IUDs.
Also known as a stem pessary, the item is a forerunner of the intrauterine device; donor's remarks: device belonged to his uncle, Dr. Cullen Bryant, gr. Medicine, University of Toronto, 1926.
Exhibit History
Used in "Name that Artifact" night, Feb. 27, 2003;
History of Contraception exhibit, Fraser-Armstrong 5, Kingston General Hospital; March 2004 - Case #2