Wandering womb
Wandering womb was the belief that a displaced uterus was the cause of many medical pathologies in women. The belief was first attested in the medical texts of ancient Greece, and even though some opposed this theory, it persisted in European academic medicine and popular thought for centuries. The wandering womb as a concept was popularized by doctor Edward Jorden, who published The Suffocation of the Mother in 1603. However, this belief was eventually discredited with advances in anatomy and psychology.
Origins
One of the first clearly documented mentions of the wandering womb was by Plato in his book, Timaeus. He states:Here, Plato personifies the womb as an animal-like entity inside a woman's body; one that desires to bear children. He believed that if a woman remained childless for too long, the womb would become upset or “angry,” and begin to move or "wander" through the body in search of fulfillment. As it moved, the womb was said to disrupt the body's internal balance, and block the passages for breath. This disruption was thought to cause breathing difficulties and a wide range of illnesses or symptoms. The womb was viewed not only as a reproductive organ, but also as an active and restless creature that could harm a woman’s health if it was unsatisfied or left "idle."
The belief in the "wandering womb" was found in ancient Greece. Some scholars have argued that it originated in Egypt, but this has now been disproved. One description of the theory of a "wandering womb" comes from Aretaeus, a physician from Cappadocia, who was a contemporary of Galen in the 2nd century AD. He wrote that the uterus could move out of place, and float within the body. In the translation of Francis Adams this reads:
The Greek translated here as "like an animal within an animal" would be better translated as "like a living thing inside another living thing". The belief that the uterus could move freely, which this imagery evokes, was linked to the use of scent therapy to entice it up or down within the body. This may have been part of ancient cultural beliefs in Greece, but the earliest known written accounts of it are in the fifth- and fourth-century BCE texts associated with the name of Hippocrates. One of the first gynecological treaties that includes a reference to the "wandering womb" was written in medical treaties credited to Hippocrates. The movement of the uterus was believed to cause symptoms throughout the body, depending on the destination to which the uterus moved in search of fluid.
Hysteria
The idea of a condition called hysteria caused by "wandering womb" developed from the "hysterical suffocation" of ancient Greek writers. Medical researchers developed a better understanding of anatomy after the invention of microscopes in the 17th century and cellular research in the 19th century. Sigmund Freud's theory of the free-floating unconscious, the "mind within the mind", was similar to the ancient belief in the "animal within the animal".Suffocation of the Mother was the first text on the subjects of the wandering womb and hysteria that was written in English. Edward Jorden, the author of this text, used hysteria as an explanation for mysterious medical occurrences in young women. He supposed that the hysteria caused by the "wandering" of the womb around the body was the source of witchcraft, and often presided in witchcraft-related trials as an expert on the subject. The Suffocation of the Mother connected the phenomenon of hysteria with actions like singing, laughing, crying, and choking.
Both "wandering womb" and "hysteria" are unused in medical theories of today.