Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of the ovaries of a female animal. In the case of non-human animals, this is also called spaying. It is a form of sterilization.

The removal of the ovaries together with the Fallopian tubes is called salpingo-oophorectomy. Oophorectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy are not common forms of birth control in humans; more usual is tubal ligation, in which the Fallopian tubes are blocked but the ovaries remain intact.

In humans, oophorectomy is most usually performed together with a hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus. Its use in a hysterectomy when there are no other health problems is somewhat controversial.

In animals, spaying involves an invasive removal of the ovaries, but rarely has major complications; the superstition that it causes weight gain is not based on fact. Spaying is especially important for certain animals that require the ovum to be released at a certain interval (called estrus or "heat"), such as cats and dogs. If the cell is not released during these animal's heat, it can cause severe medical problems that can be averted by spaying or partnering the animal with a male.

Oophorectomy is sometimes referred to as castration, but that term is most often used to mean the removal of a male animal's testicles.

See also

• tubal ligation & birth control
• circumcision
• genital mutilation & female circumcision

Map showing Bangka-Belitung province in Indonesia

Bangka-Belitung is one of the provinces of Indonesia. It includes two large islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones, which lie east of Sumatra, northeast of South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) province. The Bangka Strait separates Sumatra and Bangka, and the Gaspar Strait separates Bangka and Belitung. The South China Sea is to the north, the Java Sea is to the south, and Borneo to the east is separated from Belitung by the Karimata Strait.

The province was formerly part of South Sumatra, but became an independent province along with Banten and Gorontalo in 2000. The capital is Pangkalpinang .

Administrative areas

After being split off from South Sumatra, it consists of two regencies and one municipality :

1. Bangka (capital : Sungai Liat)
2. Belitung (capital : Tanjung Pandan)
3. Municipality of Pangkal Pinang

In order to ease development distribution, Bangka-Belitung is divided into several regencies :

1. Bangka (capital : Sungai Liat)
2. Bangka Selatan (capital : Toboali)
3. Bangka Tengah (capital : Koba)
4. Bangka Barat (capital : Mentok)
5. Belitung (capital : Tanjung Pandan)
6. Belitung Timur (capital : Manggar) and
7. Municipality of Pangkal Pinang.

This geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by Provinces of Indonesia Sumatra (Sumatera): DI Aceh | North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) | West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) | Bengkulu | Riau | Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) | Jambi | South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) | Lampung | Bangka-Belitung Java (Jawa): DKI Jaya | West Java (Jawa Barat) | Banten | Central Java (Jawa Tengah) | DI Yogyakarta | East Java (Jawa Timur) Kalimantan: West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) | Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) | South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) | East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) The Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara): Bali | West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) | East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) Sulawesi: West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) | North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) | Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) | South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) | South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) | Gorontalo The Maluku Islands and New Guinea (Irian): Maluku | North Maluku (Maluku Utara) | West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat) | Papua Categories: Provinces of Indonesia Last updated: 02-10-2005 21:05:08