Endometriosis: an improper name for two different disorders

Abstract

The suffix osis (from ancient Greek, ωσις) in medical terms denotes a state of morphological and functional disorder, in general with degenerative consequences such as osteoporosis, arthrosis, diverticulosis, cirrhosis, myocardosis, apoptosis, and necrosis 1 . Even when this word is used to define an increasing process, for example, leukocytosis, fibromatosis, tuberculosis, and mycosis, deteriorating consequences occur in cells, tissues, and organs as well 1 . Endometriosis may be used as endometrial hypoplasia or atrophy, which occurs with the age inside uterus, starting in the climacteric period. However, this term has been used as the presence of endometrial tissue not only in abnormal sites, mostly in the pelvis, but also in other parts of the body. Endometrial tissue has been described in peritoneum, omentum, liver, kidney, lung, heart, spine, eyes, neck, and even central nervous system. This tissue is frequently found in pelvic tissues, including ovary, sigmoid, rectum, and abdominal wall after surgical procedures on the uterus 2 .The presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus is not a deteriorating process or an increased disorder of the endometrium. The correct term for the presence of any tissue far from its origin is "teleplasia" (τῆλε, at a distance, far away, or far from; and πλάσις, molding, formation), but this word was not included in the medical terminology. Since the first studies of pathology in the 19th century, metaplasia (μετά, after, beyond, changed, or altered) has been adopted. The pathogenesis of any metaplasia, including metastasis, is not known, but it is not due