What is the normal thickness of the endometrium?

Changes in endometrial thickness occur during a woman's physiological cycle, but when suffering from gynecological diseases, the endometrium is stimulated to overgrow, resulting in abnormal thickness. The uterus is a very important organ for women. Once the endometrium is abnormal, it may indicate that the woman’s reproductive function is weakened or cause other gynecological diseases.

There are many factors that affect the fertility of women of childbearing age, among which endometrial thickening is one of the most common factors. What is the normal value of the endometrium? The normal thickness of the uterus is 8-10mm, but the thickness is different for each person.

The thickness of the uterine lining changes

The thickness of the endometrium changes regularly with the onset of menstruation and is not constant. The endometrium is divided into two layers, the basal layer and the functional layer. The basal layer is not affected by the changes in ovarian hormones during the menstrual cycle and remains unchanged during the menstrual period; the functional layer is affected by ovarian hormones and undergoes periodic changes, necrotizing and falling off during the menstrual period. Therefore, the thickness of the endometrium changes cyclically with the menstrual cycle.

Taking a 28-day menstrual cycle as an example, the cyclical changes of the endometrium can generally be divided into three stages: menstrual phase, proliferative phase and secretory phase. The 1st to 4th day of the menstrual cycle is the menstrual period. At this time, progesterone acts and the endometrium will show a secretory response. From the 5th to the 14th day, when the follicles mature, it is the proliferative phase, and the endometrial and stromal cells will be in a proliferative state. In the final secretory phase, the levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease, which activates the synthesis of prostaglandins in the endometrium, stimulates the contraction of the myometrium and causes continuous spasm of the spiral arterioles in the functional layer of the endometrium, resulting in a decrease in endometrial blood flow. At this time, the thickness of the endometrium can reach 8-10mm.

When the endometrium thickens, women will experience symptoms such as infertility, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, and pain during sexual intercourse. Therefore, when women notice that they have thickening symptoms, they need timely treatment.

Endometrial hyperplasia

Endometrial hyperplasia has a certain tendency to become cancerous, so it is classified as a precancerous lesion. However, based on long-term observations, the vast majority of endometrial hyperplasia is a reversible lesion or maintains a persistent benign state. Only in a few cases may cancer develop after a longer time interval. Therefore, once the disease is diagnosed, active treatment is required.