Endometriosis Trivia Quiz

Answer: uterus

Endometriosis begins in the uterus, where endometrial tissue builds up monthly after ovulation. However, the pain and discomfort of endometriosis begin when that tissue migrates outside the uterus, where it can attach to parts of the intestine, the kidneys, or even to the lungs.

Answer: False

With improved techniques for diagnosis, endometriosis symptoms are being identified in women in their teens, sometimes soon after the onset of menarche (monthly periods). The most common diagnostic technique is a laparoscopy, a tiny abdominal incision near the navel, through which a camera is inserted.

The doctor can look around at the uterus and ovaries to detect adhesions, fibroids and other evidence of endometriosis. A pelvic ultrasound examination can also detect ovarian endometrial cysts.

Answer: Delay of first pregnancy past age 30

As diagnosis increasingly finds symptoms of endometriosis in women who are not yet sexually active, delay of pregnancy past age 30 has been completely ruled out as a cause of endometriosis. Excess estrogen compared to progesterone seems to be the "smoking gun" for endometriosis, when other symptoms such as extreme abdominal pain, cysts and fibroid tissue are present.

Answer: Travel through the lymphatic system

In order to reach the lungs or even the eye, endometrial tissue can travel through the lymphatic system, which carries immune system components, such as white blood cells, throughout the body to help fight infections. Endometrial tissue can survive for a short time in the lymph vessels, but cannot survive in the red-cell bloodstream. Reverse menstruation happens in many women, but not all of them contract endometriosis.

The uterus almost never fully expels all its endometrial tissue each month during normal menstruation.

Answer: Excessive bleeding

Excessive, sometimes continuous, bleeding can become hemorrhage, necessitating removal of the uterus as quickly as possible. Continuous moderate bleeding can result in severe anemia, diminishing the woman's overall health. Abdominal cramping is painful and debilitating, but only in rare instances is it a sign of a rupture of an organ attached to the uterus by adhesions, such as the bowel. Fibroid masses in the uterus can become immense, larger than grapefruit, without impairing the patient's life expectancy. Scarring on the fallopian tubes and other organs is extremely painful but not life-threatening.

Answer: the career woman's disease

For a few decades, doctors encouraged women with symptoms of endometriosis to get pregnant, as pregnancy seemed to relieve the pain and heavy bleeding associated with this disease. However, as these symptoms returned shortly after women had had their babies and stopped nursing, delaying childbirth was ruled out as the cause of endometriosis, and pregnancy proved not to be a cure.

Answer: 10 years

It is often difficult for a doctor to confirm endometriosis in women under age 18. The reproductive system is complex and many factors can contribute to pain and excessive menstrual flow in women. However, in women under 25, pain that does not respond to an oral contraceptive medication along with an anti-inflammatory pain medication such as Ibuprofen is an indicator of endometriosis.

As of 2010, the average length of time for a confirmed diagnosis has gone down to about 10 years, from 16 years in the 1970s.

Answer: testosterone

Testosterone-based medications were given once a month for up to six months to women with excessive bleeding and pain from endometriosis. The objective in using testosterone-based treatment was to shut down the female reproductive cycle temporarily. The unpleasant side effects of this hormone, such as weight gain, deepening of the voice, and increase in facial hair growth have made it less popular as a treatment.

Answer: Women who are twins, triplets or are multiple-birth mothers

A report published in the journal "Human Reproduction" by the International Endogene Study shows a high probability that variations on the chromosome 7p13-15 may be a marker for endometriosis (December 2006). Other studies implicate the gene responsible for embryo implanting, as this event happens in the endometrium. Several studies have also shown that if the closest female relatives of a woman have developed endometriosis, she most likely will, too. Being born into a set of twins or triplets, or giving birth to multiple babies yourself has no connection to whether a woman will develop endometriosis.

Answer: Surgical removal of just the uterus and external endometrial growths

An interrupted hysterectomy can be a lifesaver, removing in most cases just the uterus and any endometrial tissue attached to other organs. The ovaries remain intact, preventing the sudden onset of menopause, and a woman can have several healthy pre-menopause years after this surgery. Endometrial ablation removes built-up tissue in the uterus, but may not get all of it, so the endometriosis symptoms will return.

A complete hysterectomy is the most uncomfortable option, and can negatively affect many other aspects of the woman's life, including sexual activity. Laparoscopic removal of cysts on the ovaries and fibroids in the uterus provides short-term relief only, as both of these can regrow later.