| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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The uterus, or womb, is the place where a baby grows when a person is pregnant. The uterus is lined with tissue (endometrium). Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue that is similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other places in your body. These patches of tissue are called "implants," "nodules," or "lesions." They are most often found:
In rare cases, the tissue may grow on your lungs or in other parts of your body.
What causes endometriosis?The cause of endometriosis is unknown.
Who is at risk for endometriosis?Endometriosis can affect anyone who menstruates. Certain factors can raise or lower your risk of getting it.
You are at higher risk if:
You have a lower risk if:
The main symptoms of endometriosis are:
Other possible symptoms include:
Surgery is the only way to know for sure that you have endometriosis. First, however, your health care provider will ask about your symptoms and medical history. You will have a pelvic exam and may have some imaging tests.
The most common surgery to diagnose endometriosis is a laparoscopy. This is a type of surgery that uses a laparoscope, a thin tube with a camera and light. The surgeon inserts the laparoscope through a small cut in the skin near your belly button. Your provider can make a diagnosis based on how the patches of endometriosis look. They may also do a biopsy to get a tissue sample.
What are the treatments for endometriosis?There is no cure for endometriosis, but there are treatments for the symptoms. Your provider will work with you to decide which treatments would be best for you.
Treatments for endometriosis pain include:
Treatments for infertility caused by endometriosis include:
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Endoscopy is a procedure that lets your doctor look inside your body. It uses an instrument called an endoscope, or scope for short. Scopes have a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube. The doctor moves it through a body passageway or opening to see inside an organ. Sometimes scopes are used for surgery, such as for removing polyps from the colon.
There are many different kinds of endoscopy. Here are the names of some of them and where they look.:
Infertility means not being able to get pregnant after at least one year of trying (or 6 months if the woman is over age 35). If a woman keeps having miscarriages, it is also called infertility. Female infertility can result from age, physical problems, hormone problems, and lifestyle or environmental factors.
Most cases of infertility in women result from problems with producing eggs. In primary ovarian insufficiency, the ovaries stop functioning before natural menopause. In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the ovaries may not release an egg regularly or they may not release a healthy egg.
About a third of the time, infertility is because of a problem with the woman. One third of the time, it is a problem with the man. Sometimes no cause can be found.
If you think you might be infertile, see your doctor. There are tests that may tell if you have fertility problems. When it is possible to find the cause, treatments may include medicines, surgery, or assisted reproductive technologies. Happily, many couples treated for infertility are able to have babies.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection and inflammation of the uterus, ovaries, and other female reproductive organs. It causes scarring in these organs. This can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic pain, abscesses, and other serious problems. PID is the most common preventable cause of infertility in the United States.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia, two sexually transmitted infections (STIs), are the most common causes of PID. Other bacteria can also cause it. You are at greater risk if you:
Some women have no symptoms. Others have pain in the lower abdomen, fever, smelly vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, and pain during intercourse or urination. Doctors diagnose PID with a physical exam, lab tests, and imaging tests. Antibiotics can cure PID. Early treatment is important. Waiting too long increases the risk of infertility.
NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Pelvic pain occurs mostly in the lower abdomen area. The pain might be steady, or it might come and go. It can be a sharp and stabbing pain in a specific spot, or a dull pain that is spread out. If the pain is severe, it might get in the way of your daily activities.
If you're a woman, you might feel pain during your period. It could also happen when you have sex. Pelvic pain can be a sign that there is a problem with one of the organs in your pelvic area, such as the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, or vagina. If you're a man, the cause could be problem with the prostate. In men and women, it could be a symptom of infection, or a problem with the urinary tract, lower intestines, rectum, muscle, or bone. Some women have more than one cause of pelvic pain at the same time.
You might have to have lab, imaging, or other medical tests to find the cause of the pain. The treatment will depend on the cause, how bad the pain is, and how often it occurs.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
A hysterectomy is surgery to remove a woman's uterus or womb. The uterus is the place where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. After a hysterectomy, you no longer have menstrual periods and can't become pregnant. Sometimes the surgery also removes the ovaries and fallopian tubes. If you have both ovaries taken out, you will enter menopause.
Your health care provider might recommend a hysterectomy if you have:
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
The ovaries are part of the female reproductive system. They produce a woman's eggs and make female hormones. Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs in or on an ovary. They usually form during ovulation, when the ovary releases an egg. They are usually harmless and go away by themselves. Most women have them sometime during their lives.
Most ovarian cysts are small and don't cause symptoms. Women may not find out that they have them until they have a pelvic exam. If there are symptoms, they may include:
If your health care provider finds a cyst, you may be able to wait to see if it gets bigger. You may need surgery if you have pain, are past menopause, or if the cyst does not go away. If a cyst bursts or causes bleeding, you should get medical help right away. Birth control pills can help prevent new cysts.
Rarely, ovarian cysts can become cancerous. This risk increases as you get older.
A health problem that involves ovarian cysts is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Women with PCOS can have high levels of male hormones, irregular or no periods, and small ovarian cysts.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women of childbearing age. Fibroids are made of muscle cells and other tissues that grow in and around the wall of the uterus, or womb. The cause of fibroids is unknown. Risk factors include being African American or being overweight.
Many women with fibroids have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may include:
Your health care provider may find fibroids during a gynecological exam or by using imaging tests. Treatment includes drugs that can slow or stop their growth, or surgery. If you have no symptoms, you may not even need treatment. Many women with fibroids can get pregnant naturally. For those who cannot, infertility treatments may help.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.
Your gallbladder is most likely to give you trouble if something blocks the flow of bile through the bile ducts. That is usually a gallstone. Gallstones form when substances in bile harden. Rarely, you can also get cancer in your gallbladder.
Many gallbladder problems get better with removal of the gallbladder. Fortunately, you can live without a gallbladder. Bile has other ways of reaching your small intestine.
Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells in the body grow out of control and form a tumor. Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor that forms in the tissues of an ovary. The ovaries are a pair of female reproductive glands that make eggs and female hormones.
What are the types of ovarian cancer?There are a few different types of ovarian cancer. The most common type is epithelial cancer. It begins in the cells that cover the ovary.
There are also two related types of epithelial cancer that can spread to the ovaries:
These two cancers are similar to ovarian cancer, and they have the same treatments. So some medical experts also consider those two types as ovarian cancer.
Some other rarer types of ovarian cancer are malignant germ cell tumors and stromal tumors.
What causes ovarian cancer?Ovarian cancer happens when there are changes (mutations) in the genetic material (DNA). Often, the exact cause of these genetic changes is unknown.
Most ovarian cancers are caused by genetic changes that happen during your lifetime. But sometimes these genetic changes are inherited, meaning that you are born with them. Ovarian cancer that is caused by inherited genetic changes is called hereditary ovarian cancer.
There are also certain genetic changes that can raise your risk of ovarian cancer, including changes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. These two changes also raise your risk of breast and other cancers.
Besides genetics, your lifestyle and the environment can affect your risk of ovarian cancer.
Who is more likely to develop ovarian cancer?Certain people are more likely to develop ovarian cancer. They include those who:
Ovarian cancer may not cause early signs or symptoms. By the time you do have signs or symptoms, the cancer is often advanced.
The signs and symptoms may include:
To find out if you have ovarian cancer, your health care provider:
Often the only way to know for sure that you have ovarian cancer is by having a biopsy of the tissue. A biopsy is done during surgery to remove the tumor.
What are the treatments for ovarian cancer?Treatments for ovarian cancer may include:
Your provider may suggest that you have genetic testing to look for the gene changes that raise the risk for ovarian cancer. Knowing whether or not you have the gene change may help your provider decide on your treatment plan.
NIH: National Cancer Institute