Appearance of Adenomyosis (Uterine Tissue)

Description

Centered in the composition, the uterus is opened in section to expose the uterine cavity and its endometrium, with the myometrium thickened by diffuse adenomyosis where endometrial tissue extends into the muscular wall. The cervix sits inferior to the uterine body and continues into the vaginal canal, maintaining a continuous luminal pathway. Laterally, the fallopian tubes project from the uterine cornua toward the ovaries, which lie posterolateral to the uterus in the adnexal region. Ovarian follicles are suggested within the ovarian cortex. Adenomyosis is a myometrial disease, so a cut surface that contrasts endometrium and myometrium matters more than an external uterine view; it highlights the ill-defined, trabeculated appearance and the loss of a sharp endometrial-myometrial junction. Painful menses and heavy menstrual bleeding often correlate with a globular, enlarged uterus, and on MRI the same concept is expressed as thickening of the junctional zone with small high-signal foci representing ectopic endometrial glands and hemorrhage. Surgeons and radiologists use these anatomic relationships to distinguish adenomyosis from leiomyomas, which tend to form discrete, well-circumscribed masses and can alter the contour of the serosa in a different pattern. Use this artwork in gynecology and reproductive anatomy teaching to explain why adenomyosis behaves like an internal form of endometriosis, and to support chapters on abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, and hysterectomy pathology correlation. It also fits patient-facing materials where a clear uterus-in-section helps explain imaging reports and treatment choices such as hormonal suppression, levonorgestrel IUD placement, or definitive surgery. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.