Autoclave Charles Chamberland in 1884, although a precursor known as the steam digester was created by Denis Papin in 1679. The name comes from Greek "auto-", ultimately meaning self, and Latin "clavis" meaning key, thus a self-locking device. Sterilization autoclaves are widely used in microbiology, medicine, podiatry, tattooing, body piercing, veterinary medicine, mycology, funerary practice, dentistry, and prosthetics fabrication. They vary in size and function depending on the media to be sterilized and are sometimes called retort in the chemical and food industries. Typical loads include laboratory glassware, other equipment and waste, surgical instruments, and medical waste. A notable recent and
Sterilization of Latinas again in the future. In the 1970s a group of Chicana women brought up a federal class action lawsuit for the injustices against a hospital in Los Angeles County for the injustices of these women regarding their sterilization. Women in this time were given false information regarding sterilization. The titular plaintiff, Dolores Madrigal, a Latina woman, was told several times by a medical professional that if she received a sterilization it could be “reversed." Other women who were in a similar position as Madrigal signed consent forms for their sterilization because they were heavily sedated or manipulated by doctors and