As I've dug deep into the world of gynecology, I've discovered quite a few types of speculums (or is it specula???), and while I understand the purpose of some of them, I'm wondering if there are specific uses/benefits/tradeoffs for the others, or simply I some I may not know about?
* Graves: Most common for pelvic exams; variety of sizes; best for women who have had intercourse.
* Pederson: Used on younger, smaller, and vaginal patients; similar to graves in shape but narrower.
* Sims: No moving parts; may be single or double ended; often used for exams in the sims position or lateral position.
* Collin: Opens side-to-side; used for exams or procedures on the recto-vaginal septum or anterior side of the vagina are done; also helpful for examining and procedures on the urethra because of how the distended tissue slightly opens and enhances visualization of the meatus.
* Auvard Weighted: Almost exclusively in surgery, has a shape similar to Sims but also a bulbous weight in the handle; used to hold the vagina open from the bottom hands-free.
* Guttmann: Single blade on the bottom, two metal bars on either side; used for procedures where full or near-full access to the full circumference of vaginal walls is necessary.
* Cusco: ?
* Miller: ? ... Opens side-to-side like the Collin; used often for obstetric exams (guessing) as the blades can open an impressive 3.5 inches ‼️
* Sakura (or Sakuras?): ?
* View-more vaginal speculum with lateral retractor: Effectively a Graves Speculum but with a built-in lateral retractor; used for holding the lateral vaginal walls apart while the speculum is open. NOPE - it turns out that this was actually a normal graves speculum and lateral retractor sold together as a set, not one piece as I originally thought.
* Kristeller: ?
Finding images of these isn't too difficult, but I'll see if I can collect one or some of each and drop them in an album if there isn't one out there already!
-TYD