History
The condition was first described in 1935 by American gynecologists Irving F. Stein, Sr. and Michael L. Leventhal, from whom its original name of Stein-Leventhal syndrome is taken. Although Stein and Leventhal were the first in modern medicine to describe the condition, earlier references include the description by Vallisneri in 1721 of larger than normal ovaries and the description by Chereau in 1844 of sclerocystic changes in the ovaries. Chereau's report was followed by observations of other European gynecologists in the second half of the nineteenth century. Stein and Leventhal's article identified the symptoms associated with the ovarian changes and reported wedging procedure as a highly successful remedial procedure. However, the simple symptoms for PCOS described by Stein and Leventhal could not last long, as the same symptoms were also found in patients diagnosed with other ovarian conditions like hyperthecosis and hilus cell tumors as well as in patients diagnosed with nonovarian hyperandrogenism of various types, such as adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing's syndrome. Polycystic ovaries were later found to exist in some women with subtle endocrine disorders. The wide range and frequency of symptoms made it difficult to establish a consistent clinical picture.
Read more about this topic: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records between the material and the moral nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Well, for us, in history where goodness is a rare pearl, he who was good almost takes precedence over he who was great.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Certainly there is not the fight recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moment’s comparison with this, whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)