An examination table is used to support patients in laying or sitting during health care examinations. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used marble or wooden slabs, which were called plinths, as the first so-called ‘massage table’ in the gymnasiums (Greece) and the baths (Rome). This usage dates from almost 1000 BC.
In the 19th Century it was common practice for health workers (physicians, midwives, etc) to go to the patient’s house to examine and treat them. The patient was examined in their own armchair, kitchen table or bed. Gradually through licensing, credentialing and regulation, the authority of the doctor’s office began to reflect the advent of scientific discovery so that by World War I, the doctor’s room had become more clinical in nature and the examination table had become its central feature. It was made of wood, with cotton or straw padding under a thin plastic or leather cover.
During the second half of the 20th century lighter metals replaced the bulky wooden examination tables and adjustability via hydraulic pumps allowed different sized practitioners to find a more comfortable work height for themselves. Electrical motors replaced the hydraulic pumps in the 1980’s.
The one-piece surface of the plinth also became adjustable, first with a hinged two piece that allowed for reclined sitting. The rise of manual therapy and its need for precise patient positioning in the second half of the 20th century saw further adaptions such as the face hole so that the patient could lay prone and still breathe comfortably, three hinged pieces targeting the neck position as well as the back, lowered arm supports and surfaces that rotate as well as bend.
Description provided by Sarah Marshall of Canada and Glenn Ruscoe of Australia
References:
R.N. Calvert. 2002. The history of massage. Healing Arts Press. Accessed online at https://www.massagemag.com/magazine-2002-issue96-history96-24191/ on 9 November 2021.
Carlino, PJ. 2019. The art and science of examination furniture. Modern American History, 2, 237-247. Accessed online at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-american-history/article/art-and-science-of-examination-furniture/C24348C9F5078A5BEB1032872210FFF0 on 9 November 2021.
History of the exam table. Medical Device Depot, Blog 45. Accessed online at https://www.medicaldevicedepot.com/Blog-45-s/1245.htm on 9 November 2021.
