ETYM Latin, from specere to look, behold. Related to Spy.
1. A medical instrument for dilating a bodily passage or cavity in order to examine the interior.
2. A mirror (especially one made of polished metal) for use in an optical instrument.
(pl. -la) mirror; reflector; instrument for examining body passages; colored patch on bird's wing.
Mirror; reflector; coloured patch on a bird's wing.
Medical instrument to aid examination of an opening into the body; for example, the nose or vagina. The speculum allows the opening to be widened, permitting the passage of instruments. Many specula also have built-in lights to illuminate the examined cavity.
The earliest recorded vaginal speculum was used by Greek physician Archigenes in the 2nd century AD. + prikaži više