en·do·me·tri·al im·plants

fragments of endometrial mucosa implanted on pelvic structure following retrograde transference through the oviducts.Synonym(s): endometriosis

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

endometriosis

A condition affecting up to 50% of women, which is defined as the presence of functioning endometrial glands and stroma outside of uterine cavity, occurring (in descending order of frequency) in: ovaries, broad ligaments, rectovaginal septum, umbilical scars, intestine, lungs, breast; laparoscopic resection or ablation of minimal lesions increased fecundity.

Clinical findings
Often accompanied by dysmenorrhoea, cyclical pain, low back pain, thigh pain, hypermenorrhoea, repeated miscarriages, infertility, bleeding per rectum or bladder. Regional swelling with vicarious ectopic bleeding parallels menses.

Evaluation
Laparoscopy.

Management
Surgery if anatomy is distorted; TAH-BSO is definitive therapy.

Prognosis
Endometriosis is associated with future development of cancer.

Malignancy in endometriosis
Malignancy can arise in the epithelium (e.g., clear-cell or endometrioid carcinomas), stroma (e.g., endometrial stromal sarcoma, MMMT, adenosarcoma), or in other lesions (e.g., borderline tumours, endometrioid adenofibroma). Cancer allegedly occurs in up to 10% of cases.

Endometriosis, criteria and comments
Glands
• Active (functional) or inactive.
• Metaplastic changes—ciliated, hobnail, mucinous or squamous.

Stroma
• Usually readily apparent.
• May be inconspicuous cuff.
• Spiral arterioles, haemosiderin, CD10.
• Decidualisation.
• Myxoid change.
• Smooth muscle metaplasia/elastosis.

Haemosiderin
• Pigmented histiocytes.
• Pseudoxanthomatous.

Endometrial implants

Growths of endometrial tissue that attach to organs, primarily in the pelvic cavity.

Mentioned in: Endometriosis

Mentioned in

endometriosis

References in periodicals archive

Endometrial implant adhesions were positive in 10.13% of the women with primary infertility compared to 9.52% women who had secondary infertility.

Role of diagnostic hysterolaparoscopy in evaluation of primary and secondary infertility

Baranao, "Effect of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibition on endometrial implant development in a murine model of endometriosis," Reproductive Sciences, vol.

Angiogenesis and endometriosis

In addition, cyclical inflammatory/immune cell stimulation that fails to eliminate ectopic endometrial implants results in progressive immunological derangement.

Endometriosis, a modern syndrome

Surgical treatments range from removing only the endometrial implants by means of laparoscopy to removing the uterus and ovaries.

Endometriosis; Key Q&A

By carefully moving the laparoscope around the abdomen, the surgeon can check the condition of the abdominal organs and see the endometrial implants. A doctor can sometimes feel endometrial implants during a pelvic examination, and symptoms will often indicate endometriosis.

Endometriosis and the toxic link