Causes of abnormal uterine bleeding biology essay

The uterus consists of two layers. The inner layer that is thinner is called as endometrium. The thicker and outer layer is called as myometrium. In the menstruating women, the endometrium gets thickened every month when the uterus is preparing for the pregnancy. If the pregnancy does not result then the endometrial lining will be shed off. Once the menopause sets-in, the shedding and formation of endometrium stops. In usual menstruation cycles, the uterus bleeding will be normal. The bleeding that occurs in between the menstrual periods is known as abnormal uterine bleeding. If menopause has started for a woman who has not taken hormone therapy and the menstrual cycle has stopped for her, the bleeding in uterus at any time will be considered as abnormal. Abnormal uterine bleeding is caused by various conditions.

Causes of abnormal uterine bleeding

The major causes of abnormal uterine bleeding can happen at any age. The causes might occur at particular time periods in the women’s life.

Abnormal bleeding from uterus in young girls

Before the beginning of the first period in the girl’s life, if the bleeding appears, then it might be considered as abnormal. This bleeding may be due to an injury, due to a foreign body, due to the irritation in the genital area or due to the urinary problems in the tract. The irritation in the genital area might be caused due to the application of certain strong soaps, lotions or by an infection. Bleeding can result because of sexual abuse as well.

Bleeding in Adolescents

Several girls have irregular bleeding many times during their first few months after the first menstrual period. This problem will be solved sometimes without any treatment when the hormonal cycle and ovulation becomes normalized. If the bleeding continues or if it is intense then it is necessary to consult the physician. Abnormal bleeding in adolescents might be caused due to the conditions that lead to bleeding in several premenopausal women. These causes include infection, medical illnesses, bleeding disorder and pregnancy.

Premenopausal women

There are various conditions that can result in abnormal bleeding in women above the adolescent age and below the menopause age. Sudden alterations in the hormone levels during the ovulation period can result in vaginal spotting. The premenopausal women who use birth control tablets that are hormonal in nature can cause breakthrough bleeding. Regular ovulation is not observed in some women and they normally experience light bleeding or heavy bleeding very often. Anovulation is mostly seen when the periods start and at the time of peri-menopause. Anovulation can happen at any time during the reproductive years. The women who have normal ovulation might have excessive blood loss as well during the menstruation time. The bleeding might also happen in between the periods. The major causes of such type of bleeding are polyps and fibroids in uterus. The irregular and abnormal growths consist of tissue belonging to uterus. These growths will change the structure of the uterus and become the cause for abnormal uterine bleeding. Anovulatory women also have fibroids and polyps. Some of the other reasons that are considered as causes of abnormal bleeding in premenopausal women are cancer in endometrium or cervix, pregnancy, clotting disorders like platelet abnormalities or Von Willebrand disease and medical problems like renal disease, liver disease and hypothyroidism.

Hormonal Birth Control

The women and girls who use birth control tablets that are hormonal in nature will encounter bleeding between the menstruation periods. This might result due to alterations in the uterus lining if the bleeding occurs in the first few months. If the bleeding continues for many months, then the physician has to be consulted or the birth control pill has to be changed.

Menopausal transition

The period before the menstruation ends is known as menopausal transition. During this period, the normal hormonal cycling starts to change and ovulation might become irregular. The secretion of estrogen will be progressive while the secretion of progesterone will get reduced. The changes in the hormone levels can lead to the growth of endometrium. The endometrium will grow and produce too much tissue which might result in the formation of endometrial hyperplasia and polyps. These growths might lead to abnormal bleeding. At menopausal transition, women are also at the risk of other causes of abnormal bleeding like cancer and infection. Women experiencing this stage might ovulate and also become pregnant.

Menopausal women

Several conditions during the menopause can be the causes for abnormal uterine bleeding. Some of them include polyps or fibroids, uterine lining cancer, uterus infection, atrophy, side effects of radiation therapy and making use of blood thinners. Tags: uterine abnormal bleeding, unusual bleeding from uterus, abnormal blood loss from uterus, menopausal bleeding, bleeding due to abnormality in uterus.