What are the similarities and differences between adenomyosis and endometriosis?
People used to believe that adenomyosis was a form of endometriosis and vice versa. Presently, particularly deep endometriosis is still sometimes referred to as adenomyosis externa. One thing the conditions have in common is that there’s still much to learn about both of them.
“At the moment, we know very little about endometriosis, but we know even less about adenomyosis because it’s even more difficult to get to. It’s a diagnosis that can only be made with ultrasound or MRI. And if you find it, you usually treat it with the Mirena IUD or an oral contraceptive pill.”
Endometriosis, on the other hand, can be detected (or ruled out) with laparoscopy.
There are some unspecific signs for adenomyosis during laparoscopy, but they’re less obvious than endometriotic lesions. Although ultrasound and MRI detection are very good, the only way to be absolutely certain of adenomyosis is under the microscope, usually after a hysterectomy.