BACKGROUND Pain remains the cardinal symptom of endometriosis. However, to date, the underlying mechanisms are still only poorly understood. Increasing evidence points towards a close interaction between peripheral nerves, the peritoneal environment and the central nervous system in pain generation and processing. Recently, studies demonstrating nerve fibres and neurotrophic and angiogenic fact...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the significance of severe preoperative pain for patients presenting with ovarian endometrioma (OMA). METHODS Three hundred consecutive patients with histologically proven OMA were enrolled at a single university tertiary referral centre between January 2004 and May 2010. Complete surgical excision of all recognizable endometriotic lesion...

Deep endometriosis, defined as adenomyosis externa, mostly presents as a single nodule, larger than 1 cm in diameter, in the vesicouterine fold or close to the lower 20 cm of the bowel. When diagnosed, most nodules are no longer progressive. In >95% of cases, deep endometriosis is associated with very severe pain (in >95%) and is probably a cofactor in infertility. Its prevalence is estimated t...