Grisolle Sign

Grisolle, Pierre Frédéric Grégoire (French pronunciation: [gɛʁˈzɔʎ]; 16 January 1851 in Versailles – 27 April 1911 in Paris) was a French physician, inventor and gynecological surgeon. He made significant contributions to the development of abortion methods and trained the first French gynecologist-pharmacologist.

Grisolla was born into a doctor's family. At age 15, he enlisted in the army, where he studied medicine. He later continued his education at the Paris Medical Institute and began practicing as a gynecologist in 1870. Although Grisol was a member of the Anti-Alcohol Society of Paris, he was accepted into the society on the basis of his medical knowledge and experience.

In 1880, the scientist invented his “Sign” for abortion, which was based on the principle of stretching the smooth muscles of the fallopian tube. With this method, women could safely and comfortably get rid of an unwanted pregnancy or terminate it at up to seven weeks without damaging the uterus and without any physical pain. Grizzol's idea was to open the cervix mechanically, using an instrument called a "crochet stick." When this stick is brought under the cervix, the tension of the muscles of the growing uterus turns this stick around so as to squeeze them, extracting some of the fluid containing the egg, allowing the woman to be hatched from the uterine tree in two weeks. This invention later became widely known as the "Grislo Sign"