Ectopic pregnancy: how the diagnostic and therapeutic management has changed.

Nowadays ectopic pregnancy often can be diagnosed before the woman's condition has deteriorated, which has altered the former clinical picture of a life-threatening disease into a more benign condition. This review describes the historical developments in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of ectopic pregnancy leading up to current clinical practice. The first attempts to diagnose ectopic pregnancy originate from the beginning of the 20th century.