Endometriosis, Pelvic Pain: Clinics and Imaging

In: Imaging of Urogenital Diseases · 2009 · pp. 333–346 · doi:10.1007/978-88-470-1344-5_17 · W105952231
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Endometriosis, a common gynecological disease, is often diagnosed surgically, with deeply infiltrating endometriosis being the most symptomatic form affecting pelvic organs.

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This chapter reviews endometriosis as a common gynecologic disease and focuses on the clinical and imaging aspects relevant to diagnosis and symptom burden, emphasizing deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE, >5 mm) and its frequent distribution across pelvic sites such as uterosacral ligaments, rectouterine pouch, retrocervical tissue, bladder, ureter, vagina, and intestine. It states that current clinical opinion holds diagnosis should rely on direct/surgical visualization or histologic confirmation, reflecting an important limitation for purely noninvasive assessment. The chapter also surveys imaging modalities and imaging findings (including ultrasound and MRI) used to characterize pelvic and deeply infiltrating disease and infer extension. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it reviews clinical features of deeply infiltrating disease and the role of imaging in pelvic endometriosis and pelvic pain.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is one of the most common diseases in gynecology, even though its epidemiology is still relatively unknown. This derives from the fact that the diagnosis of endometriosis, according to current clinical opinion, should be made through the “direct” or surgical visualization of the disease or through histologic confirmation. Deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) (>5 mm) is the most complicated and symptomatic form and is found in 30–40% of patients with endometriosis. Often the disease involves the uterosacral ligaments, the rectouterine pouch, the retrocervical tissue, the bladder, the ureter, the vagina and the intestine. Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only Preview Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF. Similar content being viewed by others

References

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Keywords

- Uterosacral Ligament - Female Reproductive System - Magnetic Resonance Sequence - Pelvic Endometriosis - Ovarian Endometriosis These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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