Overview

Abnormal menstrual bleeding can be caused by a variety of factors, including pregnancy, infection, hormonal imbalance, and contraceptive use.

Ovarian cyst Cysts are fluid-filled sacs. Ovarian cysts occur on the surface of the ovary (when they may grow as a sort of balloon on a stalk) or within the ovary. Although the great majority of cysts are benign, some can be malignant. Most women develop some cysts throughout their reproductive years, although they never know about it because cysts are usually silent and produce no symptoms, and are only picked up either accidentally during an ultrasound examination or during a routine pelvic exam.

Learn more about Pap tests, the medical test used to detect and diagnose cervical cancer. It is often done during a woman's pelvic examination.

Pap tests: how are they graded? To understand Pap test results, it's important to know that the cells that line the cervix and the ones most often scraped in a Pap test are squamous cells, and that roughly 90% of cervical cancers occur in squamous cells as squamous carcinomas. When the glandular cells on the inside of the cervix become cancerous, these cancers are known as adenocarcinomas.