RT Journal
A1 McGOOGAN LS
T1 STerility and endometriosis
JF Archives of Surgery
JO Archives of Surgery
YR 1949
FD September 1
VO 59
IS 3
SP 437
OP 444
DO 10.1001/archsurg.1949.01240040445007
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.1949.01240040445007
AB STERILITY is a common symptom of endometriosis. Various authors1 have stated, as shown in table 1, that 20 to 66 per cent of the patients with endometriosis have a history of sterility. Pregnancy can occur in the presence of endometriosis, but the incidence is low.Why are the majority of women who have endometriosis sterile? Witherspoon2 stated that "the high frequency of sterility is due to the presence of the multiple follicular cysts of the ovaries in the absence of ovulation and subsequent formation of corpora lutea." This theory parallels that proposed as to the etiology of sterility in polycystic ovaries. This theory is not tenable for all cases, as the premenstrual phase changes characteristic of corpus luteum effect of endometrial transplants and corpora lutea have been demonstrated at operation, or in the removed ovaries. With or without the formation of a corpus luteum all cases of endometriosis