What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is what can be a very painful condition, it can be a cause of
infertility. Essentially, it’s spread of the lining of the uterus, the womb tissue, through a woman’s pelvis, and sometimes even further than that. And it’s typically, it’s cycled with menstruation, so that when a woman is menstruating, then these little pieces of tissue also expand and bleed as well, causing pain and inflammation.
Endometriosis a really difficult condition, it’s probably more common than people think, and it’s very difficult to treat. It’s diagnosed by the pattern often, so you’ve got a pattern of pain, which follows, if you like, menstruation, infertility. It can be diagnosed through ultrasound, but also through
laparoscopy as well.
Dr Norman Swan, Physician and Journalist
