Uterus

Looks like

A hollow pear of thick muscle, about 7 cm long, lying forward over the bladder.

What it does

Holds and feeds a pregnancy, and sheds its lining each month.

Keeping it well

Cervical screening, treatment for heavy or painful periods, folic acid before pregnancy; bleeding after menopause always needs checking.

Its parts

• Endometrium
• Myometrium
• Cervix

Related conditions

• Absent periods (amenorrhoea)
• Adenomyosis
• Asherman's syndrome
• Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
• Botulism
• Cervical cancer
• Cervical ectropion and Nabothian cysts
• Cervical insufficiency
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Endometrial (womb) cancer
• Endometrial polyps and hyperplasia
• Endometriosis
• Female infertility
• Fetal growth restriction
• Fibromyalgia
• Frailty & falls in older age
• Gestational diabetes
• Heat exhaustion & heatstroke
• Heavy & painful periods
• Hereditary cancer syndromes (BRCA, Lynch)
• Hyperemesis gravidarum
• Malnutrition & refeeding syndrome
• Maternal (puerperal) sepsis
• Menopause & perimenopause
• Miscarriage
• Molar pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease
• Muscular dystrophy
• Obstructed labour and obstetric fistula
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Placenta praevia
• Placental abruption
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Postpartum haemorrhage
• Preterm labour and birth
• Rhabdomyolysis
• Sarcoma
• Sarcopenia
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Stillbirth
• Tetanus
• Thrush & bacterial vaginosis
• Uterine fibroids