American family physician

Signs and symptoms of endometriosis are nonspecific, and an acceptably accurate noninvasive diagnostic test has yet to be reported. Serum markers do not provide adequate diagnostic accuracy. The preferred method for diagnosis of endometrios…

Dysmenorrhea is the leading cause of recurrent short-term school absence in adolescent girls and a common problem in women of reproductive age. Risk factors for dysmenorrhea include nulliparity, heavy menstrual flow, smoking, and depression…

Dyspareunia is genital pain associated with sexual intercourse. Although this condition has historically been defined by psychologic theories, the current treatment approach favors an integrated pain model. Identification of the initiating …

When abdominal pain is chronic and unremitting, with minimal or no relationship to eating or bowel function but often a relationship to posture (i.e., lying, sitting, standing), the abdominal wall should be suspected as the source of pain. …

Up to one half of pre-menopausal women will have endometriosis, in which endometrial-like glands and stroma grow in an extrauterine site. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has updated its guidelines on the treat…

Endometriosis is a progressive disease affecting 5 to 10 percent of women. It can cause dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, low back pain and infertility. A definitive diagnosis can be made only by means of laparoscopy. Medical treatment designed to…

Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring just before or during menstruation, in the absence of other diseases such as endometriosis. Prevalence rates are as high as 90 percent. Initial presentation of …

Hysterectomy, the most common major nonobstetric operation, is performed in more than 570,000 women in the United States each year. Although the number of hysterectomies has decreased in recent years, many authorities believe that hysterect…

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a decapeptide synthesized and released by the hypothalamus, regulates production and release of the gonadotropins luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) by the adenohypophysis.…

Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain that is not associated with pelvis pathology. It usually begins with the onset of ovulatory cycles, characteristically appearing in the year after menarche and increasing with time. The pain is associa…

Infertility may be caused by gross pelvic pathology, difficulties with insemination of the cervix and uterine cavity, partial or complete occlusion of the fallopian tubes, female endocrine abnormalities or male factors. Some forms of pelvic…

Laparoscopy is an operation in which a fiberoptic telescope and accessory instruments are inserted through the anterior abdominal wall into the peritoneal cavity. It is valuable in the search for causes of female infertility menstrual disor…