Master Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) with Picmonic for Medicine

Neisseria gonorrhea is the most common cause of acute pelvic inflammatory disease in females. N. gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease responsible for causing purulent discharge.

Chlamydia Trachomatis is a cause of subacute pelvic inflammatory disease, and can often go undiagnosed. C. Trachomatis is a sexually transmitted disease which can cause purulent discharge.

Cervical motion tenderness is a commonly seen symptom in women with PID. This symptom can also be related to painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia).

"Chandelier Sign" is used to describe the severe pain in cervical motion tenderness seen in patients. This term is used because after testing for cervical motion tenderness, patients "jump up and off the bed and hang on to the chandelier."

Salpingitis is described by infection and inflammation of the fallopian tubes. This is a complication of PID.

Complicated salpingitis may lead to tubo-ovarian abscess. This is a serious complication, leading to abscess in the fallopian tubes or ovary, and may lead to infertility.

A hydrosalpinx is a distally blocked fallopian tube filled with serous or clear fluid. The blocked tube may become substantially distended giving the tube a characteristic sausage-like or retort-like shape. The condition is often bilateral and the affected tubes may reach several centimeters in diameter. The blocked tubes cause infertility.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when an embryo implants somewhere other than the uterus, such as in one of the fallopian tubes. This can occur if the fallopian tubes are partially blocked, but an ovulated egg is still able to become fertilized. This is very painful for the female and is not a viable pregnancy.

Obstruction of the fallopian tubes with salpingitis, hydrosalpinx, or tubo-ovarian abscess makes it much harder for an ovulated egg to make its way to the uterus. Often, with complicated PID, women become infertile.

Adhesions occur as inflammed ovarian, uterine or fallopian tissue begins epithelialization onto nearby structures. Often, adhesion occurs between the fallopian tubes and the uterine serosa, or to nearby organs, like the liver.

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome occurs when PID causes infection to spread to nearby organs. In this particular syndrome, the liver becomes inflamed and there is adhesions of the liver capsule to the peritoneum, which resembles "violin strings."