Myringotomy and tympanostomy, in parallel with the general distinction between an -otomy (cutting) and an -ostomy (creating a stoma with some degree of permanence or semipermanence). In this distinction, only a tympanostomy involves tympanostomy tubes and creates a semipermanent stoma. This distinction in usage is not always made. The word "tympanocentesis" specifies that centesis (aspiration for sampling) is being done. Etymologically, "myringotomy" ("myringo-", from Latin "myringa" "eardrum", + "-tomy") and "tympanotomy" ("tympano-" + "-tomy") both mean "eardrum cutting", and "tympanostomy" ("tympano-" + "-stomy" means "making an eardrum stoma". In 1649, Jean Riolan the Younger accidentally pierced a patient's ear drum while
Pfannenstiel incision Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel (1862–1909), a German gynecologist who invented the technique, in 1900. In the United Kingdom, the incision was popularised by Dr. Monroe Kerr, who first used it in 1911, so in English speaking countries it is sometimes called the Kerr incision or the Pfannenstiel–Kerr incision. Kerr published the results in 1920, proposing that this method would cause less damage to the vascularized areas of uterus than the classical operation. He claimed that it was better than the longitudinal uterine incision in terms of chances for scar rupture and injury to vessels. Pfannenstiel incision A Pfannenstiel incision , Kerr