Is adnexitis the same as pelvic inflammatory disease?

In life, many female friends have very vague definitions of pelvic inflammatory disease and adnexitis, so they often fall into different misunderstandings. So, is adnexitis pelvic inflammatory disease? Relevant experts point out that adnexitis refers to the inflammation of the female fallopian tubes and ovaries, not pelvic inflammatory disease.

Definition of adnexitis:

Strictly speaking, adnexitis refers to inflammation of the fallopian tubes and ovaries. However, fallopian tube and oophoritis are often accompanied by parametrial connective tissue inflammation and pelvic peritonitis, which are difficult to distinguish during diagnosis. In this way, pelvic peritonitis and parametrial connective tissue inflammation are also included in adnexitis.

Definition of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease:

Pelvic inflammatory disease refers to inflammation of the female upper reproductive tract and surrounding tissues, mainly including endometritis, salpingitis, tubo-ovarian abscess and pelvic peritonitis. Inflammation can be confined to one or more sites, the most common of which are salpingitis and salpingo-oophoritis.

Strictly speaking, adnexitis refers to inflammation of the fallopian tubes and oophoritis, but during the diagnosis process, some diseases within the scope of pelvic inflammatory disease are not easy to distinguish and are therefore diagnosed as adnexitis. However, these two gynecological inflammations have many things in common, namely, acute and chronic. Neglecting treatment can lead to female infertility. Chronic fallopian tube inflammation is more likely to lead to ectopic pregnancy. Regardless of which aspect of the inflammation, the patient should be treated as soon as possible.