Hysterectomy / Surgical Removal Of Uterus

Hysterectomy - Glossary

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis.

Benign: A noncancerous growth A benign tumor does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body.

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis.

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells, which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize, to spread to distant organs.

Cervix: The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus . 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.

Cervical dysplasia: Changes in the cells lining the cervix. Cervical dysplasia involves a sequence of cellular changes from mild to severe that are not yet cancerous but constitute the prelude to cancer of the cervix.

Endometrial cancer: Cancer of the inner lining of the uterus. Endometrial cancer occurs most often in women between the ages of 55 and 70 years. It accounts for about 6% of cancer in women.