course material

1. HCP224 Medical Terminology
Answers:
Infertility
Infertility can be defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after regular unprotected
sexual activity (Khizroeva et al., 2019).
The pathophysiology of infertility includes hormonal imbalance, polycystic ovary syndrome,
hypothyroidism, hyperprolactinaemia, obesity and diabetes mellitus.
The symptoms of infertility in females includes abnormal menstruation cycle associated
with pain and cramps, irregular menstrual cycle varying every month and skipped
menstrual cycles (Morgante et al., 2018).
Certain blood test can diagnose infertility like Thyroid profile, Presence of follicle
stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and prolactin in blood.
Differential diagnosis for infertility in women is ultrasound of ovary and uterus, ovarian
reserve testing and hysterosalpingography.
The non-pharmacological treatment of infertility includes reducing body weight, intake of
healthy diet, and regular exercise.
The pharmacological treatment for infertility among women includes certain fertility drugs
like gonadotropins, clomiphene citrate, metformin, bromocriptine and letrozole.
In the present world, infertility is one of the most common diseases among people that is
mainly observed in women. It denotes an unnatural state of an adult in which the person is
unable to become pregnant. There are certain causes that lead to infertility including
delayed puberty, genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle factor.
The woman must visit fertility expert for the treatment and regular follow up must be done
for treatment purpose (He et al., 2018).
Dysmenorrhoea
Dysmenorrhoea is a term used for menstrual cramps associated with severe pain (Armour
et al., 2019).
The abnormal and increased level of prostanoid and eicosanoid secretion might cause
dysmenorrhoea.
The symptoms of dysmenorrhoea include cramps in lower abdomen during menstruation,
pain in lower abdomen, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and back pain.
Secondary dysmenorrhoea can be diagnosed by hysterosalpingography, Laparoscopy and
Transvaginal ultrasonography.
The three differential diagnosis of menstrual cramps or dysmenorrhoea includes

2. Ultrasound of uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and cervix, MRI of ovaries and hysteroscopy
(Barcikowska et al., 2020).
Non-pharmacological treatment for dysmenorrhoea includes use of hot bag in the lower
abdomen, reducing body weight, healthy diet and regular exercise.
The pharmacological treatment of dysmenorrhoea includes surgery, pain relievers and
hormonal birth control pills.
Dysmenorrhoea, which is commonly known as menstrual cramps are pain in lower
abdomen before or during menstruation cycle. It is common among women who suffer from
heavy menstrual bleeding, irregular menstrual cycle and polycystic ovary syndrome. It is
classified either as primary or as secondary based upon certain conditions.
A woman with dysmenorrhoea might visit a gynaecologist for treatment of the same.
Frequent follow-ups must be done with the time interval of not more than three months
(Woo et al., 2018).
Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids, which are also called uterine leiomyomas are the benign smooth muscle
tumours in uterus (Pavone et al., 2018).
It is one of the main causes of the abnormal uterine bleeding in women and is developed
during reproductive years. Its growth is dependent on ovarian steroid hormones like
progesterone and oestrodiol.
Symptoms of uterine fibroids include heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, constipation,
longer menstrual cycle, frequent urination, back pain and difficulty during urination
(Manyonda et al., 2020).
Laboratory test of uterine fibroids includes Ultrasound of uterus and magnetic resonance
imaging.
The three differential diagnoses of uterine fibroids are hysterosalpingography,
hysterosonography and hysteroscopy.
Non-pharmacological treatment for uterine fibroids includes uterine artery embolization,
radio-frequency ablation, laparoscopic myomectomy, hysteroscopic myomectomy and
many more (Manyonda et al., 2020).
Pharmacological treatment includes gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, progestin
releasing intrauterine device tranexamic acid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Most of the patient does not have any symptoms; however, few women have heavy
menstruation associated with pain. It Causes pain during sex and if the size becomes large it
pushes the bladder which cause frequent urination. However, after menopause, the size
eventually decreases and it is a common cause for uterus removal in women.
Although it is not severe disease but in few cases the woman might visit the physician.
Long-term follow up is required after the treatment (Li et al., 2020).
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one of the most common endocrine disorder among women
(Patel, 2018).
The pathophysiology of polycystic ovarian syndrome includes interaction of epigenetic and
genetic changes, Alteration of neuroendocrine system; primary ovarian abnormalities end
metabolic modifiers.

3. The symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome include polycystic ovaries, irregular
menstruation cycles and excessive androgen.
Pelvic ultrasound is one of the common methods for diagnosing polycystic ovary syndrome
(Paris et al., 2020).
The differential diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome includes hypothyroidism,
hyperprolactinaemia and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
The non-pharmacological treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome is the modification of
lifestyle, reducing weight, restriction on calorie intake and maintenance of healthy body
weight.
The pharmacological treatment includes progestin therapy, combination birth control pills,
metformin, gonadotropins, letrozole and clomiphene.
Polycystic ovary syndrome may cause problem for conceiving and is caused by Hormonal
changes in the body. The ovary is filled with cysts, which are the immature follicles, which
appears as a “string of flowers” during ultrasound exam.
Polycystic ovary syndrome may cause infertility in women and so proper treatment must be
done with frequent follow up for improving the condition (Kazemi et al., 2020).
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is the disease associated with the female reproductive system (Bulun et al.,
2019).
Histopathological and epidemiological studies indicated that the endometriotic tissue is
considered as the origin of ovarian cell carcinoma and ovarian endometrioid carcinomas
that are collectively called Endometriosis associated cancer.
The symptoms of endometriosis include dysmenorrhoea, Painful intercourse, infertility,
pain with the bowel movement and urination, excessive bleeding and fatigue.
The laboratory diagnosis of endometriosis includes pelvic examination.
The differential diagnosis of endometriosis is ultrasound, laparoscopy and magnetic
resonance imaging (Agarwal et al., 2019).
The non-pharmacological treatment of endometriosis includes Acupuncture and
physiotherapeutic therapy.
The pharmacological treatment includes Medications for pain, hormonal therapy, fertility
treatment and conservative surgery.
In endometriosis, cells that are similar to those in endometrium grow inside and outside of
the uterus. The cells usually covered the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissues
surrounding the uterus and ovary. It is another factor, that leads to infertility among women
and are associated with pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding and pain during bowel
movement.
Clinical intervention is important with frequent and long-term follow up by the physician
(Li et al., 2019).
References
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