Endometriosis

What it means

The growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus.

The main manifestations of endometriosis are chronic upper abdominal pain and infertility. Endometriosis occurs primarily on the pelvic peritoneum, ovaries, and rectovaginal septum, and in rare cases on the diaphragm, pleura, and pericardium. Endometriosis affects 6 to 10% of women of reproductive age, 50 to 60% of women and teenage girls with pelvic pain, and up to 50% of women with infertility. Peritoneal disease, which is dependent on estrogen for growth, derives from retrograde menstruation of steroid hormone sensitive endometrial cells and tissues, which implant on peritoneal surfaces and elicit an inflammatory response. This response is accompanied by angiogenesis, adhesions, fibrosis, scarring, neuronal infiltration, and anatomical distortion resulting in pain and infertility.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category