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Uterine tissue development in healthy women during the normal menstrual cycle and investigations with magnetic resonance imaging.

Hoad CL, Raine-Fenning NJ, Fulford J, Campbell BK, Johnson IR, Gowland PA

Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.

OBJECTIVE: High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to monitor both uterine endometrial and junctional zone morphometry during the normal menstrual cycle. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-four healthy, ovulating women were studied during a single menstrual cycle. Three scans were performed to prospectively coincide with the follicular, periovulatory, and luteal phases of the cycle. RESULTS: MRI data showed a significant increase in endometrial and junctional zone volume, between the follicular and periovulatory phases, with a significant decrease in endometrial volume observed from the periovulatory to luteal phases. The regularity index, which is a novel subjective assessment of junctional zone structure, varied significantly and demonstrated a less regular junctional zone in the luteal phase. CONCLUSION: This study has quantified the normal developmental changes of uterine tissue during the menstrual cycle with MRI. Junctional zone data from MRI may play a major role in future studies that investigate menstrual disorders, subfertility, and pathologic changes.

Published 7 February 2005 in Am J Obstet Gynecol, 192(2): 648-54.
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