TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Disorders of the Female Reproductive Tract A1 - Johnston-MacAnanny, Erika B. A1 - Taylor, Robert N. A2 - Hammer, Gary D. A2 - McPhee, Stephen J. PY - 2013 T2 - Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine, 7e AB - Disorders of the female reproductive system can occur as a result of disease in one of the many varied reproductive organs: the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the uterus, the cervix, the vagina, or the breast. During the reproductive years, these disorders often present as altered menstruation, pelvic pain, or infertility. Cancers arising in these tissues occur more often in the late reproductive or menopausal years. Unfortunately, for several reasons, they often have high mortality rates and a high incidence of metastases when they are diagnosed. Some organs are located deep and are relatively inaccessible to palpation (ovaries). Others have few sensory nerves (ovary, fallopian tubes) and hence remain asymptomatic. Additionally, the breasts have large amounts of adipose tissue, which can make early detection of breast cancer difficult. The one exception is the uterine cervix. It has easy access to surveillance with use of the Papanicolaou smear and human papillomavirus (HPV) screening, which have led to a dramatically reduced mortality rate of cervical cancer. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1100863800 ER -