Pyosalpinx

pyosalpinx [‚pī·ə′sal‚piŋks]

(medicine)

A reproductive system disorder in which the Fallopian tubes are distended with pus.

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Pyosalpinx 

an accumulation of pus in an oviduct, usually resulting from acute salpingitis. Obliteration of the external and internal apertures of the oviduct results in the formation of a closed purulent cavity whose walls are the distended and thickened oviduct. Pyosalpinx often develops after abortion; more rarely it is caused by postpartum infection. Other frequent causes are acute and chronic gonococcic salpingitis.

The symptoms of pyosalpinx are pain in the lower abdomen, fever, and leukocytosis. Gynecological examination reveals a painful, sizable formation in the true pelvis, located lateral to the uterus or behind it. Pyosalpinx may be acute or chronic; periodic aggravation is often mistaken for a chronic inflammation of the uterine appendages. The most dangerous complication is rupture of the oviduct, with development of pelvic peritonitis and later of diffuse peritonitis.

Treatment of the disorder consists of laparotomy and removal of the pus-filled oviduct. Pyosalpinx may be prevented by timely treatment of salpingitis and gonorrhea and by reducing the number of abortions.

I. V. IAREMA