health

Endometrial implants or clumps of tissue outside the uterus respond to
hormones in the same way as endometrial tissue inside the uterus: They
grow, break down, and bleed. When endometrial tissue breaks down outside
the uterus, it releases chemicals that irritate internal tissues and cause
pain. Although some women with endometriosis do not have any symptoms,
for others the symptoms of endometriosis include heavy bleeding
during menstruation, abdominal and lower back pain, tenderness and
pain in the pelvic area, diarrhea, constipation, and bleeding from the
rectum.
Endometriosis can develop in any woman who is menstruating, but
it most often affects women who are between the ages of 25 and 40.
Endometriosis is one of the three major causes of female infertility (the
inability to conceive a child) and accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all
instances of female infertility. Endometriosis can keep women from
becoming pregnant if stray endometrial tissue attaches to the ovaries and
forms scar tissue that prevents the egg from leaving the ovary. Alternately,
stray endometrial tissue can block the fallopian tubes that carry the egg
from the ovaries to the uterus. Between 30 and 40 percent of women who
have endometriosis have difficulty becoming pregnant.