Adenomyosis Characteristics and Diagnosis

Definitions and Characteristics

Eutopic endometrium is the normal endometrial tissue that lines the uterine cavity, as defined by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and exhibits biological differences in adenomyosis patients compared to healthy women 1, 2
Deep endometriosis, including adenomyosis, is defined as lesions extending deeper than 5 mm under the peritoneal surface or those involving or distorting bowel, bladder, ureter, or vagina, according to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 3

Transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) is often used to diagnose adenomyosis with a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 82.5% and 84.6%, respectively, as reported by the American College of Radiology 4
MRI can display the endometrium even in the setting of adenomyosis, which may obscure the endometrium on ultrasound, as noted by the American College of Radiology 5