Pathology Flashcards
List some causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in adolescence/ early reproductive life?
DUB usually due to anovulatory cycles
Pregnancy/miscarriage
Endometritis
Bleeding disorders
List some causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in reproductive life/ peri menopause?
Pregnancy/miscarriage DUB: anovulatory cycles, luteal phase defects, Endometritis Endometrial/endocervical polyp Leiomyoma Adenomyosis (endometrial tissue in the myometrium) Exogenous hormone effects e.g. HRT Bleeding disorders Hyperplasia Neoplasia: cervical, endometrial
List some causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in post menopause?
Atrophy Endometrial polyp Exogenous hormones: HRT, tamoxifen (for breast cancer) Endometritis Bleeding disorders
Hyperplasia
Endometrial carcinoma
Sarcoma
Endometrial thickness of ___1____ in postmenopausal women or ___2___ in premenopausal women is generally taken as an indication for biopsy
1) >4mm
2) > 16mm
2 methods of sampling the endometrium?
endometrial pipelle- this is an outpatient procedure not requiring anaesthesia but only provides a limited sample
dilatation and curettage- cervix is dilated so that part of the endometrium can be scraped off, more invasive but gives a better sample
Required history when you send an endometrial biopsy?
Age Date of LMP (last menstrual period) and length of cycle Pattern of bleeding Hormones (is she on any hormones?) Recent pregnancy
Do not need to know number of pregnancies, drugs without hormonal influences etc.
A sample of the endometrium from what phase of the cycle is least informative?
menstrual phase
What is abnormal uterine bleeding vs dysfunctional uterine bleeding?
AUB encompasses all causes
DUB is AUB with no organic cause
DUB is irregular uterine bleeding that reflects a disruption in the normal cyclic pattern of ovulatory hormonal stimulation to the endometrial lining (no organic cause)
What is the most common indication for endometrial sampling?
abnormal uterine bleeding
Most cases of DUB are due to what?
anovulatory cycles which are commonest at either end of reproductive life
Explain why anovulatory cycles cause DUB?
If you don’t ovulate there is no corpus luteum so there is no progesterone boost which causes the proliferative endometrium to develop into the secretory endometrium so then there is just continued growth of the endometrium without going into secretory phase so this continued growing endometrium breaks down irregularly
If the women then has an ovulatory cycle then it varies the pattern of bleeding even more
What can cause anovulation?
most common at either end of reproductive life but other causes include PCOS, hypothalamic dysfunction, thyroid disorders, hyperprolactinaemia
Organic causes of AUB can be split into?
causes in the endometrium or causes in the myometrium
List some endometrial causes that can cause AUB?
Endometritis
Polyp
Miscarriage
List some myometrium causes that can cause AUB?
Adenomyosis
Leiomyoma
Endometritis can be acute or chronic
if its acute form there is an infiltrate of ___1_____ and in chronic form there is _____2_______ causes include ________3__________
1) neutrophils
2) lymphoplasmacytic
3) pelvic inflammatory disease, retained products of conception, intrauterine device related
Describe tuberculous endometritis?
now uncommon in UK, histlogically there are epitheliod granulomas within the endometrium
Endometrial polyps are ___1___ they are usually ___2___ but may present with ____3_____ they are almost always benign but ___4_____
1) common
2) asymptomatic
3) bleeding or discharge
4) endometrial carcinoma can present as a polyp
With miscarriage as a cause of AUB what is it important to rule out
molar pregnancy
What is adenomyosis?
this is when there are endometrial glands and storma within the myometrium which causes menorrhagia and dysmenorrhoea
What is a leiomyoma?
aka fibroids
tumours of the smooth muscle of the uterus
The cervix has two parts, describe the histology of each?
the endocervix: tall mucus secreting epithelium
the ectocervix: non-keratinised squamous epitheliumm
From puberty onwards the squamo columnar junction of the cervix presents on _________
the vaginal surface of the external os
Why is the squamo columnar junction of the cervix important?
this is an area where physiological squamous metaplasia occurs which means sometimes dysplasia can develop, so it is where cervical squamous carcinoma and its precursor CIN begin
What is CIN?
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is teh pre invasive stage of cervical cancer where there is dysplasia, it is asymptomatic and detectable by cervical screening
Describe genital warts?
these are caused by low risk HPV strains 6 and 11
the warts have an exophytic growth pattern and papillomatous squamous epithelium are present
koilocytes will also be present indicating HPV infection
What are koilocytes?
cells with wrinkled pyknotic (condensation of chromatin) nucleus and perinuclear cytoplasmic clearing (lighter area around the nucleus)
due to infection with HPV
Koilocytes indicate infection with ____
HPV
Describe CIN 1?
Basal 1/3 of epithelium is occupied by abnormal cells
raised numbers of mitotic figures in lower 1/3
surface cells are quite mature but nuclei slightly abnormal
Describe CIN 2?
Abnormal cells extend to middle 1/3
mitoses in middle 1/3
abnormal mitotic figures
Describe CIN 3?
means cervical carcinoma in situ
abnormal cells occupy the full thickness of the epithelium
mitoses are often abnormal in the upper 1/3
90% of cervical cancers are _____
squamous carcinoma
Where do most squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix arise?
Most arise at the squamo columnar junction
Cervical SCC arises from _____
pre-existing CIN (therefore most cases prevented by screening)
Describe local, lymphatic and haematogenous spread of cervical carcinoma?
until very late stage disease stays in pelvis spreads locally to uterine body, vagina, bladder, ureters and rectum
lymphatic spred can occur early via iliac nodes then to aortic nodes and up
haematogenous spread occurs late to the liver, lungs and bone
(most people are dead before it has time to metastasise)
What is CGIN?
This is preinvasive adenocarcinoma and is more difficult to diagnose on a smear