Peritoneal endometriosis, ovarian endometriosis and adenomyotic nodules of the rectovaginal septum: a different histopathogenesis?

Michelle Nisolle, F. Casanas‐Roux, Jacques Donnez
In: Gynaecological Endoscopy · 1997 · vol. 6(4) , pp. 211–217 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2508.1997.1120518.x · W2035276727
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 9 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study found that peritoneal endometriosis likely arises from endometrial implantation, ovarian endometriosis from mesothelial metaplasia, and rectovaginal nodules from Müllerian differentiation, suggesting distinct pathogeneses for these lesion types.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Morphological and morphometric data showed similarities between eutopic endometrium and red peritoneal lesions, suggesting that these lesions are the first stage of early implantation of endometrial glands and stroma. An inflammatory reaction provokes scarification and the lesions become black. The subsequent fibrosis leads to areas of white opacification which are probably inactive. Three different types of ovarian endometriosis were described: superficial haemorrhagic lesions; haemorrhagic cysts, and deeply infiltrating ovarian endometriosis. We showed that the mesothelium covering the ovary can invaginate in the ovarian cortex pushing back the primordial follicles. These mesothelial invaginations were in a continuum with endometriotic tissue, strongly suggesting the metaplasia theory as an explanation for the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriomas. Endometriotic rectovaginal nodules were histologically similar to adenomyomas, consisting of smooth muscle hyperplasia with active glandular epithelium and scanty stroma. Immunocytochemical results showed the poor differentiation and the hormonal independence of these lesions and indicated a close relationship with their mesodermal Müllerian origin. These three types of lesions, peritoneal, ovarian and rectovaginal, must be considered as three different entities with different pathogeneses.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (17)

Cited by (9)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK