Endometriosis: A Comprehensive Review

Maria Arafah, Sameera Rashid, Mohammed Akhtar
Advances in anatomic pathology · 2020 · vol. 28(1) , pp. 30–43 · doi:10.1097/pap.0000000000000288 · PMID:33044230 · W3092018595
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 50 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This review describes endometriosis as a condition where endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus, causing pain and infertility, with its pathogenesis involving multiple theories and hormonal, immune, and genetic factors.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a relatively common condition in which endometrial tissue is established in locations outside the uterus where, like the eutopic endometrium, it responds to hormonal stimuli and develops internal bleeding, inflammation, and fibrosis. These changes are associated with chronic and often debilitating cyclic pain and infertility. The pathogenesis of endometriosis is multifactorial, and several theories have been proposed to explain it. These include retrograde menstruation, celomic metaplasia, embryologic rests, and lymphovascular spread. Hormones, immunologic status, and genetic factors may also play a role. In most patients, the disease involves pelvic organs, but rarely it may also extend to a large variety of distant locations in the body. Patients with ovarian endometriosis are at higher risk for developing ovarian carcinomas including endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas. Some of these carcinomas may arise in a background of structural and/or nuclear atypia within the endometriotic foci. There is no known cure for endometriosis and treatment mostly consists of managing chronic pain or infertility.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometrium Ovarian Diseases Peritoneal Diseases Endometriosis Endometrium Female Humans Inflammation Inflammation Ovarian Diseases Peritoneal Diseases

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 (100)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-04T01:30:01.192114+00:00
openalex
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License: CC0 · commercial use OK