What is "speculum"

Speculum \Spec"u*lum\, n.; pl. L. Specula, E. Speculum. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See Spy.]

1. A mirror, or looking-glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology.

2. A reflector of polished metal, especially one used in reflecting telescopes. See Speculum metal, below.

3. (Surg.) An instrument for dilating certain passages of the body, and throwing light within them, thus facilitating examination or surgical operations.

4. (Zo["o]l.) A bright and lustrous patch of color found on the wings of ducks and some other birds. It is usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and is much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female.

   Speculum metal, a hard, brittle alloy used for making the reflectors of telescopes and other instruments, usually consisting of copper and tin in various proportions, one of the best being that in which there are 126.4 parts of copper to 58.9 parts of tin, with sometimes a small proportion of arsenic, antimony, or zinc added to improve the whiteness.

1590s, in surgery and medicine, "instrument for rendering a part accessible to observation," from Latin speculum "reflector, looking-glass, mirror" (also "a copy, an imitation"), from specere "to look at, view" (see scope (n.1)). As a type of telescope attachment from 1704.

n. 1 (context medicine English) A medical instrument used during an examination to dilate an orifice. 2 A mirror, especially one used in a telescope. 3 (context zoology English) A bright, lustrous patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds, usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female.

1. n. a mirror (especially one made of polished metal) for use in an optical instrument

2. a medical instrument for dilating a bodily passage or cavity in order to examine the interior

3. [also: specula (pl)]

The term speculum, Latin for " mirror", and its plural specula, may refer to:

• Specula (watchtower), a Roman watchtower
• Speculum (medical), a medical tool used for examining body cavities
• Speculum (journal), a journal of medieval studies published by the Medieval Academy of America
• Speculum literature, a medieval genre
• Speculum, magical telescopic device used by the mythical Prester John
• Speculum feathers, the secondary feathers on the inner part of a duck's wing which are often brightly coloured
• Speculum metal, an alloy containing copper and tin used for making all-metal mirrors
• Speculum (butterfly), a skipper butterfly genus in the tribe Erynnini
• Ophrys speculum, a species of ground orchid in the genus Ophrys
• Specula (gastropod), genus of sea snails in the family Cerithiopsidae
• "Speculum", a song by Adema from Adema (album)

A speculum (Latin for "mirror"; plural 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. Like an endoscope, a speculum allows entry into a body cavity; endoscopes, however, tend to have optics while a speculum is intended for direct vision.

Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies is a quarterly academic journal published by University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Medieval Academy of America. It was established in 1926. The journal's primary focus is on the time period from 500-1500 in Western Europe, but also on related subjects such as Byzantine, Hebrew, Arabic, Armenian and Slavic studies. The editor-in-chief is Sarah Spence.