Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a common medical condition where the tissue lining the uterus (the endometrium, from endo, "inside", and metrium, "mother") is found outside of the uterus, typically affecting other organs in the pelvis. The condition can lead to serious health problems, primarily pain and infertility. Endometriosis primarily develops in women of the reproductive age.

Extent

Early endometriosis typically occurs on the surfaces of organs in the pelvic and intraabdominal areas. Health care providers may call areas of endometriosis by different names, such as implants, lesions, or nodules. Larger lesions may be seen within the ovaries as endometriomas or chocolate cysts (They are termed chocolate because they contain a thick brownish fluid, mostly old blood). Endometriosis may trigger inflammatory responses leading to scar formation and adhesions

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Most endometriosis is found on structures in the pelvic cavity:

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• Ovaries
• Fallopian tubes
• The back of the uterus and the posterior culdesac
• The front of the uterus and the anterior culedesac
• Uterine ligaments such as the broad or round ligament of the uterus
• Intestines
• Urinary bladder

Endometriosis may spread to the cervix and vagina or to sites of an surgical abdominal incision.

Related Topics:
Cervix - Vagina

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In extremely rare cases, endometriosis areas can grow in the lungs or other parts of the body.

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Surgically endometriosis can be staged I-IV ( Revised Classification of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine).

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