speculum

To insert an IUD, a clinician opens the vagina using a speculum and grips the cervix with a type of forceps, which can cause a sudden, sharp pain.

From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026

Less than a quarter of people surveyed said they knew they could request a smaller speculum and only 12% said they knew they could ask for a double appointment.

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2025

“The parts that hurt for some patients — just placing the speculum is uncomfortable — placing the tenaculum is the first part that's not just pressure that can sometimes feel sharp,” Espey told Salon.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024

An exam confirmed that she needed two wolf teeth extracted and the sharp edges of some molars ground down, procedures that required propping her jaws open with a speculum.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

The flight is slow and with the wings very much depressed, as in a duck about to alight on the water; and the beautiful blue, green, and white speculum is thus rendered very conspicuous.

From Argentine Ornithology, Volume II (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson

Adding “Web MD” brought back the same results, albeit staged in doctors’ offices, with lab coats and specula as props.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 15, 2019

The firm also apparently compounded its problems through ill-advised specula tion in the market for Government securities.

From Time Magazine Archive

The metals, 9-1/4 inches in diameter, having a diagonal eye-piece, four eye tubes of different magnifying powers, and three small specula of various radii, were made by Mr. Watson.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 336, October 18, 1828 by Various

For they had not only to design and make the specula, but also the mountings of the mirrors as well.

From Woman in Science With an Introductory Chapter on Woman's Long Struggle for Things of the Mind by John Augustine Zahm

They are very much lighter in weight and cheaper to make than the old specula; and though the silvering, needless to say, deteriorates with time, it can be renewed at a comparatively trifling cost.

From Astronomy of To-day A Popular Introduction in Non-Technical Language by Cecil Goodrich Julius Dolmage

Many said there had been shortages of medical equipment such as speculums, emergency adrenaline, ECG patches, forceps and gloves due to "constantly unpaid invoices", which they claimed had resulted in some appointments being cancelled.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2025

Research commissioned by the charity suggests most women do not know they can make the test easier by asking for longer appointments, smaller speculums, or move to more comfortable positions.

From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2025

BBC Wales has also been told there have been difficulties obtaining supplies like wound packs and speculums, and that clinics had been cancelled, causing patient backlogs.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024

She also practiced ultrasound techniques and used speculums, swabs and local anesthetic to prepare patients.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 20, 2022

The colored wing patches of these birds lack the brilliance of the speculums of puddle ducks.

From Ducks at a Distance A Waterfowl Identification Guide by Robert W. Hines