Natural history: Basics of endometriosis

Endometriosis is a relatively common and potentially debilitating condition affecting women of reproductive age. Symptomatic endometriosis can result in long-term adverse effects on personal relationships, quality of life, and work productivity. As there is no clarity regarding the etiopathogenesis to date, researchers have shown a keen interest in the history of endometriosis over the past few decades. The natural history of endometriosis remains obscure. Literature search results for early descriptions of the condition we name endometriosis related either to symptoms associated with endometriosis or, alternatively, to identifying researchers who described pathological features associated with the presence of various phenotypes of endometriosis. There is no evidence that in early times anyone delineated the macroscopic features of endometriosis, as descriptions of menstrual or cyclic pain cannot be categorized as endometriosis.