History of vasectomy.

Vasectomy as a medical term is a misnomer because only part of the vas deferens is excised during the procedure. Vas deferens as an anatomic structure was not a subject of significant clinical and research interest until the nineteenth century. It is difficult to find another surgical procedure as simple as vasectomy that has sparked so much medical and social controversies for more than a century. Vasectomy is a historical, social, philosophic, medical, demographic, and legal phenomenon. It is not surprising that the history of this procedure combines not only a constant quest for ideal technique and better results but also misconceptions, false beliefs, and erroneous indications.