Glossary of Medical (and Adjacent) Terms

Fibrous scar tissue that is formed inside the body. They are usually caused by trauma to tissue – which can happen with endometriosis or because of an injury, or during surgery. They are a cause of pelvic pain. They can attach organs to each other inside the pelvis, or to the pelvic wall.

• See Lesion (EN) / Lésion (FR)

• An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or Pain management).
  • (Note: Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in some instances eliminate, sensation, although analgesia and anesthesia are neurophysiologically overlapping and thus various drugs have both analgesic and anesthetic effects.)
• Antalgique ou analgésique: Les antalgiques sont des médicaments utilisés pour atténuer la douleur, alors que les analgésiques visent à l'éliminer. Ainsi, le terme antalgique serait à réserver au paracétamol (acetaminophen/Tylenol) et à l’aspirine (des médicaments de types AINS — NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) / AINS (anti-inflammatoire non stéroïdien)), alors que le terme analgésique évoque plutôt les morphiniques. Toutefois, en pratique, les deux termes sont employés comme synonymes.

A hormone that stimulates or controls the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics. Testosterone is an androgen.

A benign tumour of the uterus.

EDCs are classically defined as exogenous chemicals that interfere with the normal physiological functions of the endocrine system potentially causing adverse health effects and promotion of disease (Rumph et al., 2020).

Unfortunately, due to industrialization, exposure to EDCs is inevitable and occurs across the lifespan of most mammals. Human exposures can occur via encounters with consumer products packaged in material that leach EDCs as well as through consuming contaminated foods (e.g., meat and dairy products). (Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.807685/full)

A cyst in the ovary, filled with old blood, also known as a chocolate cyst. It occurs when there is bleeding into a cyst. They are called chocolate cysts because the blood is dark coloured and looks like liquid chocolate.

HRQoL: Health-related quality of life, also sometimes shortened to QoL or QOL

A procedure in which the doctor examines the inside of the womb (uterus) under anaesthetic, by inserting an instrument (hysteroscope) into the womb. Minor surgery, such as the removal of a polyp, can be done at the same time.

Way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injuries. Inflammation causes swelling and pain. Inflammation is caused in part by the release of hormones called prostaglandins. 

The only way to diagnose endometriosis is through a procedure called a laparoscopy. Usually done under general anaesthetic, a small telescope with a light on the end (the laparoscope) is inserted into the pelvis through the navel. The laparoscope usually has a camera to transmit the images to a video monitor, which the surgeon uses to look inside the body. Carbon dioxide gas is used to extend the abdomen, to give the surgeon room to see the organs. The surgeon can move the laparoscope around the abdomen, to look for endometriosis. They may make another small cut to insert surgical instruments to treat the endometriosis or they might remove part of it to be examined at a later stage, this is known as a biopsy. After the procedure, the gas is removed.  

A small area of abnormal tissue – can be caused by endometriosis, other diseases or injury (see Adhesion (EN) / **Adhérences** (FR)). En français on voit souvent: lésion endométriosique ou lésion d'endométriose

NSAID (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug): NSAIDs (such as Ibuprofen) block the production of prostaglandins in the body.

The body’s response to damage or injury. It is subjective and everybody has different tolerances of pain. It is a message that travels through the nerves into the brain and is there as a defence mechanism to alert us to when something has happened. It can range from mild discomfort to agony. Pain can be classified as acute or chronic; pain is usually defined as ‘chronic’ when it lasts 6 months or longer. Definitions of pain include: neuropathic, chronic, and visceral (coming from the organs).
— Voir Souffrance versus Douleur

Membrane that encloses all the organs of the abdomen. Can be a place to find endometriosis.

A polyp is a small growth of tissue (a tumour) inside the body. They can be benign or malignant.

Acronym: Patient Reported Outcome

A synthetic progestogen 

Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the major progestogen in the body. 

A type of medication which produces effects similar to those of the sex hormone progesterone.

A substance that has a large number of functions in the body. It allows for the contraction and relaxation of muscle, the control of cell growth, the dilation (increasing) and constriction of blood vessels, control of blood pressure, and creation of inflammation. Prostaglandins cause the womb to contract and cause cramping. They can affect the spinal nerve and cause pain. In endometriosis, the endometriosis deposits are said to secrete (expel) prostaglandins which cause pain & inflammation.

Randomised control trial (RCT) is a trial in which subjects are randomly assigned to one of two groups: one (the experimental group) receiving the intervention that is being tested, and the other (the comparison group or control group) receiving an alternative (conventional) treatment

• En français, le terme est ECR: essai clinique randomisé (on peut voir essai contrôlé randomisé également): essai portant sur au moins deux interventions, dans lequel les personnes admissibles sont réparties aléatoirement entre le groupe traité et le groupe témoin.

Elle sont définies dans le champ de la santé comme des propositions développées méthodiquement pour aider les praticien.ne.s et les patient.e.s à rechercher les soins les plus appropriés dans des circonstances cliniques données.

Abnormal, benign (non-cancerous) growths of muscle within the wall of the womb.

Abnormal, benign (non-cancerous) growths attached to a short stalk that protrudes from the inner surface of the womb. 

The supports that hold the womb in place inside the body. This is a common place to find endometriosis.