Gynecology

Endometriosis

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

In making a diagnosis of endometriosis, your doctor will first start by asking about your symptoms and conducting a physical exam, including a pelvic exam to check for any abnormalities, though these are typically hard to detect without having other, more advanced tests.

Pelvic exam is done to check a woman's vagina, uterus, bladder and rectum. The doctor feels these organs for any lumps or changes in their shape or size. To see the upper part of the vagina and the cervix, the doctor inserts an instrument called a speculum into the vagina.

Transvaginal ultrasound involves a doctor inserting an instrument into the vagina. The instrument aims high-frequency sound waves at the uterus. The pattern of the echoes they produce creates a picture.

Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure that uses tiny incisions and a scope, called a laparoscope, to view the pelvic and other abdominal organs to look for signs of endometrial tissue outside the uterus.

CA125 Test is a blood test that checks levels of a blood protein known as CA125, which is a tumor marker for certain gynecological cancers, but is also used to detect a specific protein found in the blood of women who have endometriosis. However, it is important to note that CA125 levels also may be increased during pregnancy, menstruation and in the presence of other non-cancerous gynecologic diseases or cancers.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated February 28, 2008