Roederer’s research and teaching methods cleared the way for instruments to be used in obstetrics. This becomes evident in his portrait when you compare the fingers of his right hand with the iron fingers of a gynaecological instrument constructed in 1775. Such instruments are equipped with a measuring mechanism intended to standardise and measure the subjective impression the doctor gained through his manual examination.

PELVIMITER STEIN IV »PELVIMENSOR«, Georg Wilhelm Stein, 1775, iron (measuring scale made from brass), Collection of the history of obstetrics, University of Göttingen