Clinicians
These deposits are most commonly found in the pelvis but can potentially be found almost anywhere in the body with bowel, liver, and even lung involvement reported. Rare cases have even been reported in people assigned male at birth3. The causes are as of yet unknown with multiple theories proposed. The first widely accepted theory was related to “retrograde menstruation”, with the belief that period blood travelling into the pelvis through the uterine tubes was creating endometriosis deposits. We now know that this cannot explain the disease in a large proportion of patients. More recent theories include errors with tissue development during fetal growth, links to autoimmune diseases, and general inflammatory causes. It is possible that a combination of factors in people with a genetic vulnerability is the cause, with research ongoing.
People with endometriosis can experience a range of symptoms with the most predominant being pelvic pain, but can also include fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms, and infertility. The severity is often unrelated to the degree of endometriosis, with “severe” endometriosis being discovered while investigating unrelated problems and “minor” endometriosis causing debilitating symptoms.