Ds and Cs: do's and don'ts

Curettage of the uterus was introduced by Recamier in 1843 to remove fungosities. After a dubious reception the procedure fell into disrepute, to be reintroduced in France by Simon in 1872. Now it is one of the most frequently performed diagnostic procedures and has attained a ritualistic status in the management of diseases of women. Of the 125,000 curettages on the insured population of Australia in the year ending 31 August 1982, 25,000 were performed by general practitioners (Willett L. Personal communication; June 1983).