(Left) Trivalvar Vaginal Speculum: Wood and steel; 18th century; 12x28x9,2cm (Right) Trivalvar Vaginal Speculum: Silver; 1843-61; 9x16x6,5cm

"Speculum" is a Latin word that means mirror. The speculum is aimed at dilating the entry of certain cavities to allow the direct or reflected observation of the condition of a specific organ. Until 1800 illnesses' cure was based on the nature of the identified symptoms and signs. There was no need to use complementary diagnosis instruments. The speculum was an exception. Its use goes back to the Greek and Roman Medicine and since then its shape has shown a constant change to safeguard the woman well being and a better viewing. The scientific idea of a cylindrical vaginal speculum was old but brought to practice only in1801 with Joseph Recámier (1774-1852). Various and successive changes in shape as well as in the kind of materials used (metal, ivory, glass, porcelain, wood and rubber) took place. Valve shapes preferred by Greeks and Romans, had a common underline principle but different technical solutions. Specula with two, three or more valves manufactured in different eras aimed a better exposure and a less discomfort.

The present trivalve speculum has little difference in shape when compared with those found in Pompeii and Herculaneum (97 D.C.). The difference lies on the materials used in the production: wood and steel instead of bronze. This is an expected composition in a period prior to the introduction of antisepsis/asepsis.

In the Portuguese surgical bibliography you can read about the existence of vaginal and uterine specula, although the information about their shape and materials is scarce, which does not happen with the other types of specula.

The silver speculum that we have chosen has three marks in it. In one of them initials can be seen, that are the trademark of one unidentified goldsmith from Porto, with the contrasts P-36 and P-37 (ALMEIDA Fernando Moitinho - Inventário de Marcas de Pratas portuguesas e brasileiras. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, 1993) of the assayer Luís António Rodrigues de Araújo, between 1843 and 1853. The eleven coins mark (0,917) is imputed to the same assayer (connected to P-37) who used it between 1843 and 1861.

This is an example that emphasizes the importance of investigating marks on surgical instruments to achieve a precise manufacture dating. The preference for silver in the production of this instrument can be explained by its greater resistance to corrosion by the organic fluids and, maybe, by the refined taste of its owner.