Mechanophysiology of endometriosis: a non-dimensional physiomarker to detect retrograde flow

Abstract

Endometriosis affects a significant portion of fertile-age women, often leading to infertility and a substantial decline in quality of life. Despite its prevalence, current diagnostic methods are limited, focusing on assessing the presence or absence of endometrial lesion, rather than the origin of the disorder. Thus, resulting in underdiagnosis. A potential mechanics-based metric for diagnosing endometriosis is proposed here by leveraging the retrograde menstruation hypothesis. By examining the interplay between uterine and fallopian tube peristalses, a non-dimensional physiomarker is introduced to signify the onset of retrograde flow. The analysis reveals that increased uterine contractile activity, coupled with decreased fallopian tube contractile activity, correlates with retrograde flow, suggesting a predisposition to endometriosis. This mechanophysiology-based approach offers a promising avenue for origin based diagnosis, with the proposed non-dimensional physiomarker - the endometriosis number - serving as a potential indicator of endometrial cell migration and the onset of endometriosis.