Question

A 26 year old woman who is otherwise healthy and has normal menstrual cycles complains of diffuse pelvic pain that is worse during menstruation. She also has recently developed pain with defecation and sexual intercourse. An ultrasound reveals a large cyst on one of her ovaries. The cyst is most likely?

1) A malignant serous carcinoma
2) A teratoma
3) An endometrioma
4) A benign fibroma

Answer 1

The ultrasound finding of an ovarian cyst, combined with the woman's symptoms of pelvic pain that worsens during menstruation and pain during defecation and sexual intercourse, strongly suggests an endometrioma, associated with endometriosis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 26-year-old woman with normal menstrual cycles who complains of diffuse pelvic pain during menstruation, along with pain during defecation and sexual intercourse, and with the presence of a large cyst on one of her ovaries based on an ultrasound, is most likely suffering from an endometrioma. Among the given options, an endometrioma is characterized by endometrial tissue that is present outside the uterus and can attach to the ovaries to form a cyst. This condition is a manifestation of endometriosis, which is known for causing pelvic pain, particularly worse during menstruation, and can also cause infertility due to scar formation or anatomical distortions caused by the abnormal endometrial tissue.