Western medicine etiology and pathology of uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the female reproductive system. They are composed of smooth muscle and connective tissue. Their etiology and pathology in Western medicine include:

1. Cause

The exact cause of uterine fibroids is still unclear. Based on the age at which fibroids are most common, such as being more common in childbearing age, rare in puberty, and atrophying or disappearing after menopause, it is suggested that their occurrence may be related to sex hormones (such as estrogen and its receptors, progesterone and its receptors, etc.).

At the same time, about 25% to 50% of uterine fibroids have cytogenetic abnormalities, including the transposition of the long arm fragments of chromosomes 12 and 17, the rearrangement of the long arm of chromosome 12, and the partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 7. Studies have shown that uterine fibroids are formed by the proliferation of monoclonal smooth muscle cells, and multiple uterine fibroids are formed by different clones of cells.

2. Pathology

Gross examination: a substantial spherical mass with a smooth surface and a harder texture than that of the uterine muscle. It compresses the surrounding muscle wall fibers to form a pseudocapsule. There is a layer of loose reticular gaps between the myoma and the pseudocapsule, which is very easy to peel off. The cross-section is off-white, with a vortex-like or woven structure.

Microscopic examination: The tumor is mainly composed of spindle-shaped smooth muscle cells and unequal amounts of fibrous connective tissue. The muscle cells are uniform in size, arranged in a whorl or shed shape, with rod-shaped nuclei.

Myoma degeneration: refers to the loss of the original typical structure of the myoma, including hyaline change (also known as transparent change), cystic change, red change, sarcoma change and calcification, etc.