The Three Most Common Endometriosis Theories

Endometriosis is a problem women get in relation to their reproductive system. Believe it or not, there have been a few rare cases when men have experienced endometriosis but it has been extremely unusual cases.

Generally, it afflicts women of child-bearing age, or those who have started their menstruation, and will only stop when she get to menopause stage.

There are many theories about what causes endometriosis, but amidst all the speculations, only 3 stand out as probable theories accepted by many medical experts. These are the Sampson’s Theory, the Vascular Theory, and the Meyer’s Theory.

The Sampson’s Theory, which is also known as the implantation theory, tries to explain endometriosis as caused by the menstrual blood that has been backed up resulting in a reverse order of the blood flow. When this happens, the blood that has the endometrial tissue leaves the uterus and clings to other parts of the body.

The problem with this theory according to some medical experts is that since this theory was first introduced in the 1920s, there should have been solid proof and research that would validate this claim. However, to date, no proof has been presented, and the Sampson’s Theory remains just a theory.

The Vascular Theory bases its hypothesis on the supposition that the affected endometrial tissue will move through the body by way of the blood vessels. This will allow the endometrial tissue to latch on to different parts of the body, causing pain from different places.

With this theory, the main question many experts ask is how does the endometrial tissue leave the blood vessels and into the parts of the body like the kidney, bone, skin, and veins, among others. Again, there is insufficient evidence that has been found to prove this theory.

The third theory is the Meyer’s Theory which suggests that the endometrial cells are in the person as early as birth. It just presents itself when the woman starts to menstruate. This theory calls the cells metaplastic cells at birth, then endometrial cells when the woman reaches a certain age.

The main assumption of this theory is that cells change in disposition and character. From being a pre-natal cells, the cells differentiate and turn into endometrial cells. This theory supports the idea that men can get this condition, and it has actually happened. Nevertheless, this theory cannot be considered fact yet because of the lack of scientific data.

There are other theories, but nothing has been established as the real cause. This means that many doctors still consider these theories as possibilities, and have not closed the door entirely on unsubstantiated theories such as these.