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 Sterilization of Latinas Although eugenic sterilization programs did not explicitly target specific groups for sterilization, Latinas were disproportionately targeted by these policies as well as other women of color, such as Native American/Indigenous women. Eugenic science legitimized racial stereotypes that Whites were superior while Latinas were undesirable, feeble minded, and unfit to reproduce. Anti-Latina sentiments called for coerced and forced sterilization as a form of population control in order to keep this “undesirable” population from reproducing and immigrating to the United States. Contextualizing racial discrimination in America’s healthcare system and how it worked to justify sterilization is crucial to understanding