Patent ID: 7658712

Claim:
Vaginal speculum comprising: two spoon blades which form a spoon blade assembly and: are for introduction into the vagina; are elongated; and are located alongside and opposite one another; wherein the one spoon blade at one end of the spoon blade assembly comprises two bodies to form a housing of essentially U-shaped cross-section and the other spoon blade is hingeable with respect to the one spoon blade, around a hinge axis, wherein the speculum has a closed state when the spoon blades are in a position in which they have been brought together and an opened state when the blades are spread at an internal end of the speculum, wherein an exterior of the U-shaped housing is shaped for accommodating said housing in the mouth of the vagina after the spoon blades have been introduced into the vagina, wherein said U-shaped housing is provided with at least one surface that tapers inwards with respect to the longitudinal direction of the speculum in the direction of the external part thereof; said tapering surface for holding said housing in place in the mouth of the vagina by the ring of muscle tissue extending around the mouth of the vagina in both the closed state and opened state, wherein the two bodies of the U-shaped housing extend over a portion of the other spoon when the speculum is in the closed state such that the portion of the other spoon is provided between the two bodies when the speculum is in the closed state, wherein the two bodies each comprise an end most portion which are provided on the terminating ends of the U of the U-shaped housing, wherein the tapering surface is provided on at least one of the end most portions, and wherein the other spoon blade is not between the end most portions of the two bodies when the speculum is in the closed state.