Smooth muscle in the female pelvic peritoneum: a clinicopathological analysis of 31 women.

Aim: To study the presence and morphological features of smooth muscle in the subcoelomic mesenchyme with the aim of establishing both a normal range for the female pelvis, and its possible relationship to endometriosis, diffuse peritoneal leiomyomatosis (LPD) and other forms of 'müllerianosis'.

Methods: Seventy laparoscopically obtained pelvic peritoneal biopsies accessioned over a 16-month period were examined from 31 women clinically suspected of endometriosis. These biopsies were selected for the presence of assessable, appropriately oriented peritoneum, sufficiently distant from focal endometriosis to allow a presumption of 'normality'.