General Women's Health Patho Flashcards
what are the lower genital cancers?
cervical, vaginal, vulvar
Menopause/Perimenopause
role of estrogen replacement pills
- Vasomotor symptoms:hot flushes, night sweats →sleepdisturbances
- Mood symptoms in perimenopause, but not postmenopause
- GSM: vaginal dryness,dyspareunia
Routes of therapy:
* Systemic therapy: oral, transdermalpatches, topical gels
* Vaginal therapy: creams, vaginal tablets, ring
* Estrogen stimulatesendometrium→ progestin required if patient hasuterus
Menopause/Perimenopause
role of progestin replacement pills
- Higher risk of adverse events thanestrogentherapy
- Required for endometrial protection in patients withuterus
- Selectionof route and dosing: Usually oral, Give cyclically if still menstruating regularly, Give continuously if post-menopausal
Menopause/Perimenopause
contraindications to HRT
- Hormone-sensitivebreast cancer
- High-riskendometrial cancer
- Unexplained vaginal bleeding
- Cardiovascular disease
- Venous thromboembolism
- Stroke ortransient ischemic attack(TIA)
- Acute liver disease
Ovarian Torsion
anatomy of the ovaries
- Also known as the female gonads
- Paired intraperitoneal endocrine organ
- Normal ovary is 2.0 cm in width, 3.5 cm in length and 1.0 cm in thickness
- Mainly supported by the suspensory ligament of the ovary and the utero-ovarian ligament
Ovarian Torsion
functions of the ovaries
- Hormone production: estrogen, testosterone, inhibin, and progesterone
- Houses the oocytes, which begin developing in utero and pause development until puberty
- At birth: 1-2 million oocytes
- At puberty: 300,000 oocytes remain
Infertility
Female Fertility (timeline)
- A woman’s peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s
- By age 30, fertility starts to decline; with decline happening faster once a woman reaches their mid-30s
- By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely
Infertility
classifications of infertility
- ovulatory dysfunction
- tubal factors
- uterine factors
Ectopic Pregnancy
ddx mnemonic
Non Gyn Causes
* H: hepatitis
* A: acute abd
* I: intestinal inflammation (appendicitis, diverticulitis)
* K: kidney stone
* U: UTI
GYN Causes
* P: PID
* O: Ovarian disorders (torsion, polycystic, cyst rupture)
* E: endometrial disorders (endometriosis, hyperplasia)
* M: miscarriage/spontaneous abortion
Cervical Cancer
pathway of dysplasia to cancer
- Dysplasia: abnormal cells that have lost the ability to self regulate
- PAP Smear/Liquid based cytology: Low Grade (LGSIL) c/w mild CIN 1; High Grade (HGSIL) c/w moderate to severe CIN 2-3
- Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) on biopsy - HOW MUCH OF THE CERVICAL EPITHELIUM IS INVOLVED (CIN 1 is mild, CIN 2 is mod, CIN 3 is severe)
- Carcinoma in situ = “cancer in place” or cancer that has not spread beyond the epithelial layer
- Invasive cancer= cancer has invaded tissue beyond the epithelial layer of cells
Can be ectocervical/endocervical
Cervical Cancer
subtotal vs total vs radical hysterectomy
- Subtotal/partial hysterectomy: removal of uterus only, cervix remains
- Simple/total hysterectomy: removal of uterus, cervix
- Radical hysterectomy: removal of uterus, Fallopian tubes, cervix, bilateral parametrium and upper vagina
Placenta
Role of Placenta
- Facilitating nutrient, and gas and waste exchange between maternal and fetal circulations
- Serves as an endocrine organ producing hormones that regulate both maternal and fetal physiology during pregnancy
Placenta
what does the plaenta do early on?
Placental cells (trophoblasts) invade and start to remodel the uterine vasculature within a few hours after implantation → starts to produce hCG
Placenta
Structure
- Flat, discoid organ measuring 20-25 cm in diameter and 3 cm in thickness
- Membranes (fuses into a single membrane by delivery): Amnion (maternal) and Chorion (fetal)
- Basal plate (maternal side):Divided into lobes, Separated by septa
- Chorionic plate (fetal side):Contains branching chorionic villi, providing a massive surface for exchange, Umbilical cord emerges from the fetal side of the placenta
- Umbilical cord: 2arteries (deoxygenated blood back to mom; away from baby’s heart), 1 vein (oxygenated blood to fetus)
Placenta
Placental Circulation
- Chorionic villi provide a large surface area for maternal–fetal exchange
- Spiralarteries(maternal) fill the intervillous spaces in the decidua basalis layer of the endometrium and bring in oxygenated blood for fetus
- Spiralarteries“rupture” and become large spaces called lacunae
- 2 umbilicalarteriesbring deoxygenated blood from fetus to placental chorionic villi
- Gas and molecule exchange occurs between the fetal blood in the chorionic villi and the maternal blood in the lacunae, across the placental barrier
- 1umbilical veintransports oxygenated blood back to the fetus
- Maternalveinstake deoxygenated blood back to the maternalcirculation
- Maternal and fetal blood never come into direct contact
Placenta
gas exchange role
- O2-CO2exchange
- Occurs via simplediffusion
- Fetal hemoglobin has ↑ affinity for oxygen compared to maternal hemoglobin
Placenta
nutrient exchange (including waste product removal) role
- provides materials needed for fetal development + growth
- Water andsodiumby simplediffusion
- Glucoseby facilitateddiffusion
- Large molecules (LDLs, peptides,antibodies) by receptor-mediatedendocytosis
- Amino acidsby secondaryactive transport
- Waste Removal: products (urea and CO2) are transported back to the mother via simple diffusion
Placenta
define simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion, endocytosis, active transport
- Simple diffusion is the process in which a substance moves through a semipermeable membrane or in a solution without any help from transport proteins
- Facilitated diffusion isthe selective, passive movement of molecules along the concentration gradient
- Endocytosis isa process in which a cell takes in materials from the outside by engulfing and fusing them with its plasma membrane
- Active transport isthe process of moving molecules across a cellular membrane through the use of cellular energy; against a concentration gradient
Placenta
describe role in hormone secretion
which hormones?
- Human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG): Maintains the activity of the corpus luteum required for continuation ofpregnancy
- Human placental lactogen: Stimulates maternalinsulinproduction to ↑ glucose available to the fetus
- Chorionic thyrotropin
- Chorioniccorticotropin-releasing hormone(CRH)
- Progesterone: Maintainspregnancy, preventsmenstruation
- Estrogens
- Glucocorticoids
- Human growth hormone(hGH)
Placenta
name the 3 metabolic functions
- Glycogen synthesis
- Cholesterolsynthesis
- Protein metabolism
Umbilical Cord
length
- Extends from fetal umbilicus to fetal surface of placenta
- Depends on amniotic fluid volume and fetal mobility
- Average length: 55 cm
- ≤ 40 cm is considered a short cord
Umbilical Cord
Structure of vessels
- Contains 2arteriesand 1 vein
- Vessels are surrounded by a protective substance called Wharton’s jelly
- Counted by sonographic evaluation, with the 3 vessels seen in the 1st trimester
- Coiling: the vein andarteriesspiral around each other
Umbilical Cord
blood flow
- Umbilical vein supplies oxygenated blood to the fetus
- Umbilicalarteriestake deoxygenated blood away from the fetus
Umbilical Cord
normal vs abnormal insertion into the placenta
- NORMAL: central insertion
- Eccentric: off center
- Marginal: the cord inserts on the edge of the placenta
- Velamentous: last portion of the umbilical cord lacks the protective Wharton’s jelly, leaving the umbilical vessels exposed
- abnormal insertion increases the risk of complications during L&D (umbilical cord rupture or prenatal hemorrhage)
Amniotic Cavity
functions
- Protects fetus against trauma
- Protects umbilical cord against compression
- Nutrientreservoirfor the fetus
- Provides space for normal fetal growth and development