The uterine sound is a gynaecological instrument, still in use today, for determining the length and direction of the female cervical canal and uterus. The sound pictured here is metal and has small granulations for taking measurements. ]]>
Medical Supply Association Ltd.; 1895-1987; Healthcare manufacturer]]>
Cyprane Ltd.; 1947-2010; Anaesthetic device manufacturer]]>
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Krohne & Seseman; c.1860-1926; Surgical instrument maker]]>

William Louden Reid graduated MB, CM from the University of Glasgow in 1866, and had acted as a dresser to Joseph Lister as a student. He gained his MD in 1869 and became a Fellow of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1877. In the same year he began working as a physician at the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital.

He held several other position in Glasgow during his career; Obstetric Physician to the Royal Maternity Hospital, Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Children in the Anderson College, Gynaecologist to the Western Infirmary and Consulting Surgeon to the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women.

He became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1931. Reid served as their President from 1905-1907. ]]>

These vaginal speculae were designed by Sir William Fergusson, a prominent Scottish surgeon during the 1800s. It was used for examination of the female reproductive tract and for the easy access of surgical instruments. ]]>

William Hunter began his career as an apprentice to William Cullen in Hamilton in 1737. He continued his studies in Edinburgh and then London. It was here that he established himself as an anatomist and man-midwife.

He graduated MD from the University of Glasgow in 1750 and became an Honorary Member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Hunter was an avid collector throughout his life and donated his collections of books, coins, and anatomical specimens to the University of Glasgow, which now make up the Hunterian collections. ]]>
Reynolds; Sir; Joshua (1723-1792); Artist, PRA, FRS, FRSA]]>

Pictured here is another instrument of obstetrics known as the Braun's Hook. Named after the Austrian obstetrician, this hook would have been used to decapitate the foetus' head and remove said foetus from the womb. ]]>

This steel decapitator would have been used in obstetrics during a stillbirth. The hook is placed around the neck of the foetus and twisted in for decapitation, then the foetus is gently extracted from the womb. ]]>

This instrument was used to assist in the birth of the baby, particularly with the safe passage of the child through the birth canal. The whalebone loop could be placed around the body or head of the baby, which would then gently be dragged out. ]]>

A perforator was one of the more gruesome tools of obstetrics, used to pierce the head of the dead foetus to save the life of the mother. This particular perforator is metal and most likely dates from the 1800-1900s. ]]>
Portrait of William Loudon Reid ]]>
Adolphe Pinard was an early advocate for foetal health monitoring. However, he was also a founding member of the French Eugenics Society in 1913 and served as its president for some time.

Pinard horns are still used to this day for patients at low risk of complications in labour as well as in low-resource settings.
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This instrument is named after Nathan Bozeman (1825-1905) and Heinrich Fritsch (1844-1915).
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The blunt hook and crotchet were first combined into one instrument by Scottish obstetrician William Smellie (1697-1763).]]>
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"On the case of Mary Toft, who allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits, and on Nathaniel St. Andre, who wrote 'A short narrative of an extraordinary delivery of rabbets'."]]>
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William Louden Reid graduated MB, CM from the University of Glasgow in 1866, and had acted as a dresser to Joseph Lister as a student. He gained his MD in 1869 and became a Fellow of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1877. In the same year he began working as a physician at the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital.

He held several other position in Glasgow during his career; Obstetric Physician to the Royal Maternity Hospital, Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Children in the Anderson College, Gynaecologist to the Western Infirmary and Consulting Surgeon to the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women.

He became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1931. Reid served as their President from 1905-1907.]]>

John Munro Kerr graduated from the University of Glasgow MB CM in 1890 and began specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology. He was made Professorial Assistant to Murdoch Cameron, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow, in 1894. This involved working at the University of Glasgow and on the wards of the Royal Maternity Hospital and the Glasgow Western Infirmary. He was made Visiting Surgeon at the Maternity Hospital in 1900.

Munro Kerr was elected to the chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Anderson College in 1910, then taking Muirhead chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow in 1911. His Assistant at this time was Louise McIlroy.

Munro Kerr was president of the College from 1933 to 1935. ]]>