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November 23, 2009
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 Endometrial Biopsy Main Article |  Glossary |  Endometrial Biopsy Index 

Endometrial Biopsy Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Endometrial Biopsy article.

Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ).
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Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.
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Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
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Endometrial biopsy : A procedure for sampling the lining of the uterus (the endometrium).
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Endometrium: The uterine lining; the cells that line the uterus (the womb); the inner layer of the uterus. This tissue is shed monthly in response to the hormonal changes of the menstrual period. The endometrium then grows back and slowly gets thicker and thicker until the next period when it is once again sloughed off.

Hospital: It may seem unnecessary to define a "hospital" since everyone knows the nature of a hospital. A hospital began as a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young.
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Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Infertility: The diminished ability or the inability to conceive and have offspring . Infertility is also defined in specific terms as the failure to conceive after a year of regular intercourse without contraception.
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Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."
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Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia . Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Tissue: A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus,

  • The bone marrow is a tissue;
  • Connective tissue consists of cells that make up fibers in the framework supporting other body tissues; and
  • Lymphoid tissue is the part of the body's immune system that helps protect it from bacteria and other foreign entities.

Uterine bleeding: See: Menstruation. See also Menometrorrhagia; Menorrhagia; Metrorrhagia.

Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.


See the entire definition of Uterus

Womb: The womb (uterus) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.


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 Endometrial Biopsy Main Article |  Glossary |  Endometrial Biopsy Index 




Suggested Reading by Our Doctors
MedicineNet Doctors
  • Dilation and Curettage (D&C) - Read about dilation and Curettage (D&C), a procedure performed for a variety of reasons including determining the cause of abnormal uterine (vaginal) bleeding, tissue removal after miscarriage, or abortion.
  • Endometriosis - Lern about endometriosis symptoms like pelvic pain, infertility, diarrhea, constipation, lower back pain, abdominal pain, irregular or heavy menstrual bleeding, and even blood in the urine.
  • Endometrial Ablation - Read about endometrial ablation, a procedure performed to treat abnormal bleeding of the uterus. During the procedure the lining tissues of the uterus are destroyed.

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Endometrial Biopsy

The uterus

The uterus is part of a woman's reproductive system. It is the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows. The uterus is in the pelvis between the bladder and the rectum.

The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix. The broad, middle part of the uterus is the body, or corpus. The dome-shaped top of the uterus is the fundus. The fallopian tubes extend from either side of the top of the uterus to the ovaries.

The wall of the uterus has two layers of tissue. The inner layer, or lining, is the endometrium. The outer layer is muscle tissue called the myometrium.

In women of childbearing age, the lining of the uterus grows and thickens each month to prepare for pregnancy. If a woman does not become pregnant, the thick, bloody lining flows out of the body through the vagina. This flow is called menstruation.

Understanding cancer

Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All c...

Read the Uterine Cancer article »










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