Diffuse adenomyosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases. It is often diagnosed in women over 25 years old. Few people know about this disease, so when a woman is diagnosed with this, she starts to panic. The following information will help you learn more about this disease and how to successfully treat it.
Adenomyosis, otherwise called internal endometriosis, is associated with abnormal growths of the endometrium located in the uterine cavity. Often this disease is compared with endometriosis, although these diseases differ among themselves. The endometrium lining the internal cavity of the uterus grows during the menstrual cycle. In the event that fertilization has not occurred, this endometrium is rejected, which causes periodic bleeding. Only on the surface of the inner layers of the uterus remains the so-called "germinal endometrium", which begins to grow from the beginning of the next cycle. If a fertilized cell does not attach to it, its growth will also end in menstrual bleeding.
The causes of adenomyosis are as follows: between the muscle layer of the uterus and the endometrium is a layer of tissue that prevents the ingrowth of connective tissue deep into the walls of the uterus. This process is completely disrupted when the dividing tissue layer is thinned, and the endometrium begins to grow in the muscle tissue of the uterus, penetrating deeper and deeper into them. The growth of the endometrium occurs in certain areas of the surface of the uterus. In this case, the uterine muscle tissue reacts to the penetration of third-party tissues and forms noticeable thickenings in the places where the endometrium grows. Over time, the uterus increases significantly in size and becomes like a ball.
There are various forms of this disease. They are diagnosed after examination and ultrasound. In the case when the connective tissue creates foci of accumulation in the muscles, causing uneven growths, focal adenomyosis is diagnosed .
Simple ingrowth of the endometrium in the muscle tissue of the uterus is called diffuse adenomyosis. This is perhaps the easiest form of this kind of disease. Diffuse adenomyosis is characterized by the fact that with it, foci of proliferation of the endometrium are not formed.
There are frequent cases when a woman is diagnosed with a combined form of the disease. In this case, along with focal, diffuse adenomyosis is also present.
Another very common form of adenomyosis is nodular. With a disease called nodular adenomyosis, nodes of the uterine muscle tissue are formed around the overgrown endometrium. In their appearance, they are very reminiscent of the symptoms of fibroids. But unlike fibroids, nodular adenomyosis is characterized by the presence of a large number of connective tissues and glandular contents, while myoma nodes are composed of muscle and connective tissue.
The main factors for the occurrence of adenomyosis are:
- frequent abortion by artificial means;
- cleaning of the uterus after childbirth and a frozen pregnancy;
- patrimonial activity;
- various operations in the uterine cavity;
- acute and chronic inflammation in the uterus.
If this disease occurs in very young girls, the cause of the disease is a violation of the development of internal organs that arose during intrauterine development and insufficient opening of the cervix during menstruation.
This disease can occur without symptoms. There are indirect signs of this disease: heavy and prolonged menstruation, sharp pains, intermenstrual bleeding, pain during sex. In any case, with the appearance of such symptoms, you need to contact a gynecologist.
Adenomyosis, in case of timely diagnosis, is completely cured. Treatment is conservative, using special medications.