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.

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Social equality

The neutrality of this article is disputed.
See also the disambiguation page titled equality for the mathematical and geographical topics.

Equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect. There are different forms of equality, depending on the persons and social situations in question. For example, one may consider equality of the Censored pagees in opportunities for employment; the people in question are men and women (contrasted) and the social situation is the search for a job. As another example, equal opportunity refers to the idea that all people should start out in life from the same platform (i.e. all should have equal opportunities in life, regardless of where they were born or who their parents were).

The fight for social and legal equality was seen during the sixties in the United States in the Civil Rights movement. Though ultimately defeated by subversion by those in power then as now, the civil rights movement made great progress, and the ideals professed by the movement put some hope into the oppressed masses of the illiterate and impoverished peoples.

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Last updated: 02-06-2005 17:03:52