Oophorectomy

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


William Styron

William Styron is an American novelist, born in Newport News, Virginia on January 11, 1925. His first novel Lie Down in Darkness (1951), which tells the story of a Southern family, was published to overwhelming acclaim. Two years later his short novel, The Long March was published, followed by Set This House on Fire (1960).

He is best known for two controversial novels: The 1968 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), narrated by Nat Turner, the leader of an 1831 Virginia slave revolt, and Sophie's Choice (1979) which deals with the Holocaust.

Darkness Visible (1990) tells the story of his serious clinical depression, which he went through in the summer of 1985. His other works include a play, In the Clap Shack (1973) and a collection of his nonfiction pieces, This Quiet Dust (1982).

He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1968 for The Confessions of Nat Turner.



Last updated: 02-10-2005 09:49:18