Maternity terminology in Polish printed textbooks of midwifery and anatomy from second half of the eighteenth century 

Abstract

In the 18th century, many maternity handbooks were created in the Polish Commonwealth, mainly for women. These were not original works, but rather translations or borrowings from Western European tractates. However, their authors had to solve the problem of lacking obstetric terms in the Polish language. Many expressions of the female parts were considered indecent, and the textbooks were considered inappropriate for women. The fi rst author who undertook the task of using maternity terminology was Jakub Kostrzewski. In his works, many expressions were repeated (macica/uterus, płód/fetus, miednica/pelvis) after precursor from 16th century, but some were just forming, such as pochwa/vulva, łechtaczka/ clitoris, jajowody/fallopian tubes. The maternity terminology was floating and occurred different forms in individual authors. Other authors of the textbooks were: Raphael Steidele, Jan Różański, Józef Berger de Lonchamps, Ludwik Perzyna and Jakub Felix de Michelis. This article is based mainly of sources from 18th century. 

In the 18th century, many maternity handbooks were created in the Polish Commonwealth, mainly for women. These were not original works, but rather translations or borrowings from Western European tractates. However, their authors had to solve the problem of lacking obstetric terms in the Polish language. Many expressions of the female parts were considered indecent, and the textbooks were considered inappropriate for women. The fi rst author who undertook the task of using maternity terminology was Jakub Kostrzewski. In his works, many expressions were repeated (macica/uterus, płód/fetus, miednica/pelvis) after precursor from 16th century, but some were just forming, such as pochwa/vulva, łechtaczka/ clitoris, jajowody/fallopian tubes. The maternity terminology was floating and occurred different forms in individual authors. Other authors of the textbooks were: Raphael Steidele, Jan Różański, Józef Berger de Lonchamps, Ludwik Perzyna and Jakub Felix de Michelis. This article is based mainly of sources from 18th century.