Uterine appendages
{{Short description|A medical term for a body part}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox anatomy
| Name = Uterine appendages
| Latin = adnexa uteri
| Image = Scheme female reproductive system-en.svg
| Caption = Schematic frontal view of female anatomy
| Image2 = Gray1161.png
| Caption2 = Uterus and right broad ligament, seen from behind. (In this orientation, the contents "in front" of the broad ligament are posterior to it.)
| Precursor =
| System =
| Artery =
| Vein =
| Nerve =
| Lymph =
}}
The uterine appendages (or adnexa of uterus) are the structures most closely related structurally and functionally to the uterus.
Terminology
They can be defined in slightly different ways:
- Some sources define the adnexa as the fallopian tubes and ovaries.{{cite book | last = Abele | first = H | title = Atlas of gynecologic surgery | publisher = Thieme | location = Stuttgart | year = 2014 | isbn = 9783136507049|postscript=; Access provided by the University of Pittsburgh }}
- Others include the supporting tissues".{{cite book |author1=Ramsden, Ian |author2=Philip Welsby |title=Clinical history taking and examination: an illustrated color text |publisher=Churchill Livingstone |location=Edinburgh |year=2002 |pages=65 |isbn=0-443-07088-1 }}
- Another source defines the appendages as the "regions of the true pelvis posterior to the broad ligaments".{{cite book |author1=Reva Arnez Curry |author2=Tempkin, Betty Bates |title=Ultrasonography: an introduction to normal structure and functional anatomy |publisher=W.B. Saunders Co |location=Philadelphia |year=1995 |pages=222 |isbn=0-7216-4585-2 }}
- One dictionary includes the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and ligaments (without specifying precisely which ligaments are included).{{DorlandsDict|one/000007040|uterine appendages}}
Clinical significance
The term "adnexitis" is sometimes used to describe an inflammation of the uterine appendages (adnexa).{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/adnexitis |title=Adnexitis - Definition and More from Merriam-Webster's Free Medical Dictionary |access-date=2010-03-09| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100221132420/http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/adnexitis| archive-date= 21 February 2010 | url-status= live}} In this context, it replaces the terms oophoritis and salpingitis.
The term adnexal mass is sometimes used when the location of a uterine mass is not yet more precisely known.
63% of ectopic pregnancies present with an adnexal mass. Depending on the size of the mass, it could be a medical emergency.
The term "adnexectomy" in gynaecology is often used for salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of both: fallopian tubes and ovaries).
Additional images
File:Illu ovary.jpg|Ovary
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Female reproductive system}}
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