Myoma Explained

Myoma
Field:	Oncology

A myoma is a type of tumor that involves muscle cells.^[1] There are two main types of myoma:

• Leiomyomas which occur in smooth muscle.^[1] They most commonly occur as uterine fibroids, but may also form in other locations.
• Rhabdomyomas which occur in striated muscle.^{[1] [2] [3]} They are rare tumors, occur in childhood and often become malignant.

Whether or not angiomyomas are a type of leiomyoma or a separate entity is disputed as of 2014.^[3]

Myomas are benign tumors of the uterus that can affect the fertility of a woman depending mainly on three factors:

1. Size (cut off value 4-5 cm)
2. Number
3. Location (they can be intramural, subserous or submucous). Submucous ones are worst from a fertility point of view, while subserous are less dangerous.

Some of the most common symptoms are: abundant menstrual bleeding, longer menstrual periods, pelvic pressure, constipation, a need to urinate continuously.

Notes and References

1. Book: Ziegler . Ernst . A Text-book of pathological anatomy and pathogenesis pt. 1, 1883 . 1883 . William Wood & Company . 210 . en.
2. Web site: MeSH Browser . meshb.nlm.nih.gov . 9 November 2020.
3. Book: Rajendran . Arya . Sivapathasundharam . B. . Shafer's Textbook of Oral Pathology . 2014 . Elsevier Health Sciences . 978-81-312-3800-4 . 193 . en.