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Metaplasia
Metaplasia is the process where one type of cell changes or morphs into a different kind of cell. Metaplasia usually occurs in response to inflammation and enables cells to change to their surrounding circumstances to better adapt to their environment.
In the case of endometriosis, metaplasia would explain how the endometriosis cells appear spontaneously inside the body – and how they appear in areas such as the lung and skin. It would also explain the appearance of endometriosis cells in women with no womb – or in men who have taken hormone treatments.
During development in the womb, metaplasia allows for the development of the human body as a natural process. To explain endometriosis, some researchers believe this change from one type of cell into an endometriosis cell happens as an embryo (developing baby in the womb), when the baby’s womb (uterus) is first forming.
Others believe that some adult cells retain the ability they had as an embryo, to transform into endometriosis cells. |
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