POLYCYSTIC OVARIES SYNDROME
By: Christina Chivalier
Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS) is an ovulation disorder and infertility that occurs in many women. Polycystic ovaries syndrome dates back to 1845 where it was described in a French manuscript as being "changes in the ovaries". It was called "sclerocystic". Polycystic ovaries syndrome is a problem that occurs in with the ovaries. A "polycystic ovary is characterized as being a tough, thickened, shiny white covering overlying a layer of many small cysts just under the ovarian surface." (Thatcher, 10). That was the description that was found in the French manuscript and is still being used to this day for doctors to define polycystic ovaries. A wedge resection in the early 1900's was the first form of treatment for this syndrome. PCOS involves more than just the ovaries filled with small cysts. Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome causes infertility in women. Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome can cause a number of symptoms. Its can cause everything from obesity to missed periods. It also causes women to have more of the male hormone in their bodies, which cause male hair growth. Not all of PCOS patients have excessive hair growth some may have other skin conditions, like acne. PCOS is the one of the most notorious cause if missed menstrual cycles and "infertility due to the lack of ovulation". (Thatcher, 12) There are three main reasons women with PCOS get medical attention. The first is that they have missed menstrual cycles. A woman's period should not be light, short, or irregular. There are steps that a woman's body needs to go through in order for women to become pregnant. There is a normal menstrual cycle that a woman's body Chivalier 3 should go through and if it doesn't then the women has an irregular cycle. This process the movement of an egg to a fertilizing position, developing a lining in the uterus, then the shedding of that lining when the egg doesn't become