Reproductive endocrinology is a medical specialty that treats people with reproductive disorders, including fertility issues, sexual dysfunction, and menstrual disorders. It combines reproductive medicine and endocrinology, and encompasses a range of treatments and procedures, including IVF and intrauterine insemination. It also addresses disorders that can have adverse effects on general and reproductive health, such as polycystic ovarian disease.
Reproductive endocrinology is a medical specialty that focuses on treating people with reproductive disorders. This field of medicine is a subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology. People who see specialists in this field usually hope to get help with fertility issues, but reproductive endocrinologists can also treat people with problems like sexual dysfunction or menstrual disorders.
The field of reproductive endocrinology combines reproductive medicine and endocrinology, which focuses on the organs of the endocrine system and the hormones they produce. The ovaries and testicles are both considered organs of the endocrine system, along with the pineal and pituitary glands, thyroid, thymus, adrenal glands, and pancreas. Together, these organs secrete a large number of hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, puberty, and reproduction.
Couples who are trying to overcome infertility issues that prevent pregnancy will often see a reproductive endocrinologist, but these specialist doctors can also treat people younger or older than reproductive age. Reproductive endocrinologists can address issues such as menstrual disorders, menopause, hormonal imbalance, sexual dysfunction, miscarriage, and infertility. Reproductive endocrinology encompasses a wide range of medical treatments and procedures, including reproductive surgery, hormone treatment, and IVF techniques.
A large percentage of people who see a reproductive endocrinologist have fertility problems that are either preventing conception or preventing a woman from carrying a pregnancy to term. In these cases, the doctor must diagnose the problem that is reducing fertility before helping his patient choose how to treat the problem. Often, a patient will have multiple options for trying to conceive, so a reproductive endocrinologist must help them make an informed choice.
Reproductive endocrinology techniques for treating fertility problems are no longer limited to IVF. Many new techniques have been developed that offer alternative ways to conceive, including intrauterine insemination, in which sperm is treated in vitro to increase its fertility before being introduced into the uterus via a catheter. Another alternative is known as intrafallopian zygote transfer. In this technique, the eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized in vitro, then deposited in the fallopian tubes.
The field of reproductive endocrinology also encompasses a wide range of disorders that are not only related to fertility but can have adverse effects on general health and reproductive health. An example of such a condition is polycystic ovarian disease. This disease is associated with a number of chronic health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, abnormal lipid metabolism, high blood pressure and endometrial cancer, as well as infertility.
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