Speculum (medicine)

The disposable bivalved plastic vaginal speculum is used in office gynecology

A speculum (Latin for 'mirror'; pl.: specula or speculums) is a medical tool for investigating body orifices, with a form dependent on the orifice for which it is designed. In old texts, the speculum may also be referred to as a diopter or dioptra.[1] Like an endoscope, a speculum allows a view inside the body; endoscopes, however, tend to have optics while a speculum is intended for direct vision.

  1. ^ "diopter" in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1971