The Relationship between PID & Infertility

As you now know, when inflammation occurs in a female's uterus, ovaries, ovarian ducts, and the surrounding tissue or pelvic peritoneum, it is called pelvic inflammatory diseases.

The inflammation may occur in only one place or occur in several places in chorus. In the narrow sense, the clinical diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease is salpingitic (inflammation of the uterine tube).

Pelvic inflammatory disease may infect the outside of genital organs or the neighboring organs or other organs of the body. The pathogens enter the pelvic cavity during menstruation, childbirth, abortion or by traumas from operations to the local area, then they cause inflammation.

We have explained that Pelvic inflammatory disease can be divided into two types, acute and chronic. "Acute" happens suddenly. It can be cured by prompt, thorough and effective treatment. If acute inflammation is not cured, it will change to chronic inflammation. In most cases, because the symptoms may be minor, the patients do not pay much attention to them and treatment is delayed, so the condition turns into chronic inflammation.

Such pelvic inflammatory disease can lead to infertility

Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease generally represents itself as salpingitic or inflammation of the fallopian tubes. After a period of time, the entrance of the ovarian ducts, especially at the points where ova pass, will partly or totally, close. The inner mucous of the ovarian ducts become wall-adhered by the inflammation, and the tubal cavities become narrow. So the ovum and semen cannot pass through them, leading to infertility.

In very serious cases of pelvic inflammatory disease, the disease will spread to the pelvic peritoneum, the ovarian ducts, and the tissue surrounding the neck of uterus.  This tissue will become harder and therefore inflexible, losing their physical function. The ovarian ducts will become totally blocked. Once this occurs the patient cannot be cured.