Methods of contraception used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome Essay Example

Methods of contraception used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome Essay Example Methods of contraception used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome Paper Methods of contraception used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome Paper Methods of contraception used in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome differed in their nature and degree of effectiveness. They ranged from scientific methods that are still used nowadays to quasi-scientific and barely effective to dangerous and futile. In ancient Egypt, females used a mixture of honey and sodium bicarbonate to irrigate their genitalia. Another invention was a tampon-like object with acid anhydride. Acid anhydride is still used as a chief component of contemporary contraceptive jellies. Manuscript titled Ebers Papyrus, from 1550 BC, contains an advice about mixing dates, acacia bark and honey into a paste to be placed the vagina. The effectiveness of this method was considerable for the reason that sugar ferments were converted into lactic acid, a spermicide (Chauhan, 2003). While some substances that were used did not have any specific qualities to have a chemical effect on the sperm, ‘the insertion of substances like honey or crocodile dung into the vagina could have effectively blocked a males semen because of its thick consistency’ (Habiger, 1998, ‘Pregnancy,’ para. 4). Barrier methods were also widespread: women in ancient Egypt used vaginal suppositories as a method of contraception (Hearthstone Communications, 2007). As for men in Ancient Egypt, in 1000 BC they used fabric condoms both to protect themselves from disease (which is believed to be the primary reason) and avoid having undesired children. Women used celery seed as an oral contraceptive, as a recipe written in the Berlin Papyrus from Egypts Nineteenth Dynasty (1300 BC) advices (Riddle, 1999). As concerns Ancient Greece, by the 2nd century CE, gynecologist Soranus developed a theory that female fertility was limited to ovulation period; however, he made an incorrect assumption that ovulation happened during menstruation, not before it. Yet the origins of the rhythm method that is still practiced nowadays and is proven to be effective (although not as effective as condoms or other newer methods) can be traced back to those times. Soranus also promoted a variety of ineffective quasi-scientific methods, such as holding the breath and drawing the body back during the intercourse to prevent the sperm from penetrating the mouth of the uterus, jumping backwards seven times after sex to dislodge the sperm by, or sitting down on bent knees to cause sneezing. Regrettably, some advices by Sofranus were not only inefficient but also detrimental to women’s health, like an advice to drink the water that blacksmiths used to cool hot metals (Nottingham, n/d). Squirting cucumber and pomegranate were other methods used, and, as recent animal tests show, they had a contraceptive effect (Riddle, 1999). While the aforementioned methods are connected to female contraception in Ancient Greece, men were also experimenting with some methods of birth control to avoid having illegitimate or undesirable children. Aristotle believed that homosexual relations could be regarded as a population control method. Two methods that are still used nowadays and can be described as having a limited degree of reliability were coitus reservatus (withholding ejaculation) and coitus interruptus (ejaculating outside the vagina) (Nottingham, n/d). Speaking of Ancient Rome, females also used a variety of ineffective methods that were, in fact, mere superstitions, like wearing a leather pouch with a cats liver on their left foot during the intercourse or spitting in the mouth of a frog three times. The Roman men wore condoms made of animal intestine (Nottingham, n/d). Both in Ancient Greece and Rome, the juice of the silphium plant was a commonly used method of oral contraception that enjoyed a certain degree of effectiveness. Women had to take it once a month. However, the plant grew in one place in Cyrene and was extinct by the 1st century CE because of over-harvesting and failure to cultivate it in other places, although attempts to do so were persistent. This plant is believed to be one of the most effective contraceptives used in the ancient times, as the contemporary research shows: ‘Modern researchers tested plants of the same genus (Ferula) and found anti-fertility effects ran in the family. Crude alcohol extracts of asafetida and a related plant (Ferula orientalis) were found to inhibit implantation of fertilized eggs in rats by 40% (asafetida) and 50% (F. orientalis)’ (Zeus, 2007, para. 5). Another method of female contraception was prolonged breast feeding, which can prevent ovulation, sometimes until a child was three years old (Nottingham, n/d). Therefore, it is possible to conclude that there was a variety of contraception methods known in the Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Some of these methods were relatively reliable and are still practiced nowadays (like the rhythm method or interrupted coitus), whilst others were based on mere superstitions and had zero effectiveness or involved practices harmful for women’s health. References Chauhan, J. History of Contraception. 2003. November 12, 2007. mcmaster.ca/health/hwc/Student%20Writers/hx_contraception.htm Habiger, P. Early History: Menstruation, Menstrual Hygiene and Womans Health in Ancient Egypt. 1998. November 12, 2007. mum.org/germnt5.htm Hearthstone Communications Ltd. Birth Control Guide. 2007. November 12, 2007. epigee.org/guide/ Nottingham, V. History of Female Contraception. N/d. November 12, 2007. medhunters.com/articles/historyOfFemaleContraception.html Nottingham, V. History of Male Contraception. N/d. November 12, 2007. medhunters.com/articles/historyOfMaleContraception.html Riddle, J. M. Eves Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999. Zeus, S. The Ancient Worlds ‘Birth Control Pill.’ 2007. November 12, 2007. sisterzeus.com/Silphio.htm

Biography of Dmitri Mendeleev, Periodic Table Inventor

Biography of Dmitri Mendeleev, Periodic Table Inventor Dmitri Mendeleev  (February 8, 1834–February 2, 1907) was a Russian scientist best known for devising the modern periodic table of elements. Mendeleev also made major contributions to other areas of chemistry, metrology (the study of measurements), agriculture, and industry. Fast Facts: Dmitri Mendeleev Known For: Creating the Periodic Law and Periodic Table of the ElementsBorn: February 8, 1834 in Verkhnie Aremzyani,  Tobolsk Governorate,  Russian EmpireParents: Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, Maria Dmitrievna KornilievaDied: February 2, 1907 in Saint Petersburg, Russian EmpireEducation: Saint Petersburg UniversityPublished Works:  Principles of ChemistryAwards and Honors:  Davy Medal, ForMemRS  Spouse(s): Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva, Anna Ivanovna PopovaChildren: Lyubov, Vladimir, Olga, Anna, IvanNotable Quote: I saw in a dream a table where all elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper, only in one place did a correction later seem necessary. Early Life Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834, in Tobolsk, a town in Siberia, Russia. He was the youngest of a large Russian Orthodox Christian family. The exact size of the family is a matter of dispute, with sources putting the number of siblings between 11 and 17. His father was Ivan Pavlovich Mendeleev, a glass manufacturer, and his mother was Dmitrievna Kornilieva. In the same year that Dmitri was born, his father went blind. He died in 1847. His mother took on the management of the glass factory, but it burned down just a year later. To provide her son with an education, Dmitris mother brought him to St. Petersburg and enrolled him in the Main Pedagogical Institute. Soon after, Dmitris mother died. Education Dmitri graduated from the Institute in 1855 and then went on to earn a masters degree in education. He received a fellowship from the government to continue his studies and moved to the University of Heidelberg in Germany. There, he decided not to work with Bunsen and Erlenmeyer, two distinguished chemists, and instead set up his own laboratory at home. He attended the International Chemistry Congress and met many of Europes top chemists. In 1861, Dmitri went back to St. Petersburg to earn his P.hd. He then became a chemistry professor at the University of St. Petersburg. He continued to teach there until 1890. The  Periodic Table of the Elements Dmitri found it hard to find a good chemistry textbook for his classes, so he wrote his own. While writing his textbook, Principles of Chemistry, Mendeleev found that if you arrange the elements in order of increasing atomic mass, their chemical properties demonstrated definite trends.  He called this discovery the Periodic Law, and stated it in this way: When the elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic mass, certain sets of properties recur periodically. Drawing on his understanding of element characteristics, Mendeleev arranged the known elements in an eight-column grid. Each column represented a set of elements with similar qualities. He called the grid the periodic  table of the elements. He presented his grid and his periodic law to the Russian Chemical Society in 1869. The only real difference between his table and the one we use today is that Mendeleevs table ordered elements by increasing atomic weight, while the present table is ordered by increasing atomic number. Mendeleevs table had blank spaces where he predicted three unknown elements, which turned out to be germanium, gallium, and scandium. Based on the periodic properties of the elements, as shown in the table, Mendeleev predicted properties of eight elements in total, which had not even been discovered. Writing and Industry While Mendeleev is remembered for his work in chemistry and the formation of the Russian Chemical Society, he had many other interests. He wrote more than 400 books and articles on topics in popular science and technology. He wrote for ordinary people, and helped create a library of industrial knowledge. He worked for the Russian government and became the director of the Central Bureau of Weights and Measures. He became very interested in the study of measures and did a great deal of research on the subject. Later, he published a journal. In addition to his interests in chemistry and technology, Mendeleev was interested in helping to develop Russian agriculture and industry. He traveled around the world to learn about the petroleum industry and helped Russia to develop its oil wells. He also worked to develop the Russian coal industry. Marriage and Children Mendeleev was married twice. He wed Feozva Nikitchna Leshcheva in 1862, but the couple divorced after 19 years. He married Anna Ivanova Popova the year after the divorce, in 1882. He had a total of six children from these marriages. Death In 1907 at age 72, Mendeleev died from the flu. He was living in St. Petersburg at the time. His last words, spoken to his doctor, reportedly were, Doctor, you have science, I have faith. This may have been a quote from the famous French writer Jules Verne. Legacy Mendeleev, despite his achievements, never won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In fact, he was passed over for the honor twice. He was, however, awarded the prestigious Davy Medal (1882) and ForMemRS (1892). The Periodic Table did not gain acceptance among chemists until Mendeleevs predictions for new elements were shown to be correct. After gallium was discovered in 1879 and germanium in 1886, it was clear that the table was extremely accurate. By the time of Mendeleevs death, the Periodic Table of Elements was internationally recognized as one of the most important tools ever created for the study of chemistry. Sources Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette. â€Å"Dmitri Mendeleev.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 25 Feb. 2019.Gordon. â€Å"Mendeleev - the Man and His Legacy...†Ã‚  Education in Chemistry, 1 Mar. 2007.Libretexts. â€Å"The Periodic Law.†Ã‚  Chemistry LibreTexts, Libretexts, 24 Apr. 2019.