Cervical cancer
Cancer of the entrance to the womb (uterus). The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, pear-shaped organ, is located in a woman’s lower abdomen, between the bladder and the rectum. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina, which leads to the outside of the body.
Regular pelvic exams and Pap testing can detect precancerous changes in the cervix. Precancerous changes in the cervix may be treated with cryosurgery, cauterization, or laser surgery. The most common symptom of cancer of the cervix is abnormal bleeding. Cancer of the cervix can be diagnosed using a Pap test or other procedures that sample the cervix tissue. Cancer of the cervix requires different treatment than cancer that begins in other parts of the uterus.
A number of risk factors have been identified for cervical cancer. Women who begin having sexual intercourse before age 18 and have many sexual partners are at increased risk for cervical cancer. Likewise, if their partners begin having sexual intercourse at a young age and have many sexual partners, especially one who had cervical cancer. The relevance of sexual history is believe to have to do with the chance of infection with the human papillomaviruses (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus, which may trigger cervical cancer. Other risk factors include exposure before birth to the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), smoking, and immunodeficiency.
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- Cervical cap
Cervical cap: A soft rubber cup with a round rim designed to fit snugly around the cervix and act as a barrier contraceptive device. A spermicide is applied to the cap before insertion to kill sperm. A cervical cap is basically a small snug diaphragm and, like a diaphragm, a cervical cap must be sized […]
- Cervical cerclage
Cervical cerclage: The process of encircling a cervix that is abnormally liable to dilate (an incompetent cervix) with a ring or loop to prevent a miscarriage.
- Cervical disc
Cervical disc: A disk shaped piece of specialized tissue that separates the vertebral bones of the spinal column in the neck. The center of the disc, which is called the nucleus, is soft, springy and receives the shock of standing, walking, running, etc. The outer ring of the disc, which is called the annulus (Latin […]
- Cervical dysplasia
Cellular changes in the cells lining the cervix of the uterus. Cervical dysplasia involves a sequence of cellular changes from mild to severe that are not yet cancerous but constitute the prelude to cervical cancer. The diagnosis of cervical dysplasia is made from the PAP smear. As a rule, cervical dysplasia is found in no […]
- Cervical dystocia
Cervical dystocia: Difficult labor and delivery caused by mechanical obstruction at the cervix. Dystocia comes from the Greek “dys” meaning “difficult, painful, disordered, abnormal” + “tokos” meaning “birth.”