Item number 15 in the exhibition is a Roman gynecological speculum (speculum magnum matricis). Greco-Roman writers mention that medics recommended the use of such an instrument in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the vagina and uterus. However, as it turns out, many such devices have not survived our times. Mainly because they were made of bronze, so the material was used to make other products.
Number 14 is the rectal speculum. The earliest mention of this tool comes from Hippocrates, who mentions that when the patient is lying on his back, the doctor can use the tool to assess the degree of ulceration in the intestine.
According to the display information, number 17 is male catheters that were used to relieve painful urinary retention.
The artifacts are in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Objects discovered in Pompeii.
