Women have two ovaries, there is one on each side of
the uterus inside a woman. Inside each ovary there is a sac that encloses a
woman's egg. This sac is called the follicle. During the menstrual cycle of a
woman an egg is made.
The process of an egg being made is called ovulation
and every woman has this happen monthly. The ovaries begin to produce estrogen,
this is a signal to the uterus that it needs to begin the preparation for a
possible pregnancy. Once the follicle matures an age is releases and travels to
the womb for the chance to become fertilized. If the egg isn't fertilized the
thickened lining is shed as menstrual blood.
Now that you know about a menstrual cycle it is
important to also know what ovarian cysts are also. Ovarian cysts are fluid
filled sacs that can be found on or even inside the ovary. Some of these cysts
might be filled with solid matter or just fluid. Below you will find a list of
different types of cysts and each explains if they cause infertility or not.
Dermoid Cysts - This is a type of cyst that is formed with germ
cells start to multiply for some reason without any fertilization and
start to form. Germ cells are primitive cells that can produce all types
of human tissue. Dermoid Cysts do not affect fertility.
Functional Cysts - This type of cyst is formed in the natural
function of the body. These are the most common type of ovarian cysts.
They are harmless, filled with clear liquid and normally resolve without
having any treatments. Because they are functional they do not affect
fertility.
Endometriomas/ Chocolate Cysts - This is a type of cyst that is a
result of endometriosis which is a medical condition that happens then
parts of the uterine lining called endormetrial tissue transfers to
different organs outside of the womb. Endormetrial tissue responds to the
changes of your hormones so it bleeds during menstruation and since there
is no way to get rid of the blood it forms into a cysts. This type of cyst
does have an effect on fertility because it can cause your organs to
adhere to each other and make it difficult for the egg to move from the
ovaries.
Cystadenoma - These types of cysts start to form from the outer
lining of the ovaries. They produce a watery or jelly like fluid. There
are two different types of cystadenoma: mucinous and serous. The mucinous
is filled with a thick jell like material and the serous cystadenoma is
filled with a watery fluid. The bad thing about cystadenomas can actually
get large and cause pain and pressure and then need some kind of
treatment. However these are normally benign and don't effect fertility.
Polycystic ovarian cysts - This type of cysts is actually a
multiple amount of cysts that cluster around an ovary and are under a
thick covering. These do cause problems. They can make it difficult for
the eggs to be releases and can also start hormonal problems. Because of
these problems Polycystic ovarian cysts do cause fertility problems.
