Human Uterine Biopsy: Research Value and Common Pitfalls

Alison Maclean; Areege Kamal; Meera Adishesh; Rafah Alnafakh; Nicola Tempest; Dharani K Hapangama

doi:10.1155/2020/9275360

Human Uterine Biopsy: Research Value and Common Pitfalls

Int J Reprod Med. 2020 Apr 28:2020:9275360. doi: 10.1155/2020/9275360. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Alison Maclean¹, Areege Kamal^{1

2}, Meera Adishesh^{1

3}, Rafah Alnafakh¹, Nicola Tempest¹, Dharani K Hapangama¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Member of the Liverpool Health Partnership, Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool L8 7SS, UK.
² Pathology Department, Oncology Teaching Hospital, Baghdad Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq.
³ Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chorley, UK.

Abstract

The human uterus consists of the inner endometrium, the myometrium, and the outer serosa. Knowledge of the function of the uterus in health and disease is relevant to reproduction, fertility, embryology, gynaecology, endocrinology, and oncology. Research performed on uterine biopsies is essential to further the current understanding of human uterine biology. This brief review explores the value of the uterine biopsy in gynaecological and human fertility research and explores the common problems encountered when analysing data generated from different types of uterine biopsies, with the aim of improving the quality, reproducibility, and clinical translatability of future research.

Publication types

Review