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Review Article| Volume 1, ISSUE 4, P230-238, 1988

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Developmental abnormalities of the female reproductive tract: Pathogenesis and nosology

  • Lee P. Shulman
    Correspondence
    Address reprint requests to: Lee P. Shulman, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 853 Jefferson Ave., Room E-102, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
    Affiliations
    Division of Reproductive Genetics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee
    Search for articles by this author
  • Sherman Elias
    Affiliations
    Division of Reproductive Genetics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee
    Search for articles by this author
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      Abstract

      Normal development of the female reproductive tract depends on complex interactions among genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors leading to proper differentiation of the Müllerian and Wolffian ducts and the urogenital sinus. Alterations in this balance may result in a wide spectrum of reproductive tract abnormalities including imperforate hymen, vaginal septa, vaginal atresia, incomplete Müllerian fusion, and Müllerian aplasia. These anomalies may be isolated or associated with other anomalies; abnormalities of the Müllerian duct and urogenital sinus are frequently associated with developmental lesions of the urinary tract. Most reproductive tract abnormalities are discovered during the evaluation of primary amenorrhea, infertility, pelvic pain, or a pelvic mass. We review here the pathogenesis and nosology of the developmental errors of the female reproductive tract.

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