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


Real life

(Redirected from Rl)
For other meanings of this phrase (book and album titles etc.) see Real Life.

The phrase real life is generally used to mean life outside of an environment that is generally seen as contrived or fantastical, such as a movie or MMORPG. It is also sometimes used synonymously with real world to mean one's existence after he or she is done with schooling and is no longer supported by parents.

Real life is most often used to refer to events that the speaker believes more important than those in which the addressed has indulged. However, many speakers use the phrase real life in an ironic sense as a better alternative for their own activities, which may be objectively valued as important.

This phrase may relate to the American saying "Get a Life", allegedly popularised by William Shatner on the television show Saturday Night Live in 1987 in a comedy sketch where he played himself interacting with a group of Star Trek fans. The phrase in the show implied that none of the fans had a real life, and that they needed to move out of their parents' basement, get a job, a girlfriend, and buy a house with a mortgage.

However, many people involved in activities not seen as "real" admit that they feel some or all of the time that they would be happier without a real life.


RL abbreviates for "real life," with the meaning "not on the Internet." For example, one can speak of meeting in RL someone whom one has met in chat or on a message board, or of inability to use the Internet for a time due to "RL problems".

In real life often abbreviates to IRL.

Contrariwise, some claim that the Internet is real life; after all, the people on the other end of the connection exist as real people with real lives. Some prefer the expression f2f (face to face) for that reason.

"Real Life" forms the physical home to the controllers of the avatars and the builders of Second Life.

Some cybernauts use another idiom to convey the concept of real life or in real life: meatspace, which contrasts with the cyberspace of Internet life.

See also: quality time