title: Diffuse leiomyomatosis of the uterus.
abstract: The clinical and pathological features of four cases of the rare entity diffuse leiomyomatosis of the uterus are described. The patients, who ranged in age from 28 to 35 years, presented with a six month to ten year history of abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhoea and an enlarged uterus. Hysterectomy in each case revealed a symmetrically enlarged uterus containing numerous small ill-defined leiomyomatous nodules. On microscopic examination the nodules were composed of compact fascicles and interweaving bundles of plump uniform benign smooth muscle cells. The nodules blended with each other and merged imperceptibly with the surrounding less cellular normal myometrium. The four patients are alive and well without further treatment. The follow-up period ranged from six months to twelve years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Mulvany
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ostör
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D018231:Leiomyomatosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology