[Pathogenesis of endometriosis]

Abstract

Of women of reproductive age, 6 to 10% are estimated to be affected by endometriosis. Growth of tissue resembling the uterine mucosa outside the uterine cavity often causes severe menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain and infertility for the patients. No permanent cure is known for endometriosis, and in fact it often recurs. There are several theories of the pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease, and it is possible that different types of foci may originate in various ways.