著者

由井 秀樹

出版者

日本科学史学会

雑誌

科学史研究 (ISSN:21887535)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.52, no.268, pp.177-186, 2013 (Released:2021-07-12)

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Little is known about the meaning of medical intervention in the area of male infertility in Japan. In order to investigate this issue, this paper analyzes the topic through a review of professional journals for obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. The paper shows how artificial insemination by donor (AID) was introduced into the study of obstetrics and gynecology in Japan as a part of male infertility studies. The research clarifies four main points. First, the introduction of AID by Ando Kakuichi, who was an obstetrician and gynecologist at Keio University was related to contraception studies; due to the rapid population increase at the time, contraception studies were encouraged. Second, although there had been little investigation into male infertility problems until World War II, Ando regarded male infertility as an important issue and introduced AID after the war. Third, some obstetricians and gynecologists were opposed to AID; at Keio University, AID was seen as the last resort for male infertility, and in the mid-1950s, in order to obviate the need for AID as far as possible, new male fertility tests were developed, and ways to help sperm recover their viability were published. Fourth, after the introduction of AID by Ando, male infertility studies were also developed at other universities and they formed an important subject in the field. Consequently, not only the female body but also the male body became an object of intervention in obstetrics and gynecology in Japan.