The extent and clinical significance of adenomyotic lesions in the uterine wall. A quantitative assessment

This report presents an attempt to assess quantitatively the extent of adenomyotic lesions in hysterectomy specimens from women with symptoms suggesting adenomyosis (n = 14) and from women operated on for other reasons (n = 12). The specimens were cut into 5 mm-thick slices in which adenomyotic lesions were localized and counted microscopically. Nineteen uteri contained from 1 to 890 lesions. The distribution of lesions was mostly focal and patchy. More than half of the cases with adenomyotic lesions would have remained unrecognized if only the slice from the axial plane had been examined. Seventy-two per cent of the lesions were found in the posterior wall. Leiomyomas were found in 68% of the uteri with adenomyotic lesions. As adenomyotic lesions were observed with equal frequency in patients with and without pelvic pain, and as the degree of adenomyotic involvement did not correlate with complaints of pain, the significance of adenomyotic lesions as a cause of gynecological symptoms may be questioned.