An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilized egg is implanted
in some anatomical structure other than the uterus. They are called extrauterine
pregnancies. Commonly, the egg will be located in one of the fallopian tubes, this is
called a tubal pregnancy. This usually happens shortly after fertilization but symptoms
are not evident until between the 6th and 12th week after the egg has been fertilized.
The woman will "feel pregnant" and she will have a positive pregnancy
test.
Extrauterine pregnancies do not continue to term
because when the gamete starts to grow and gets larger in size, the anatomical location
can't accommodate the growth. If the location is in the fallopian tube, the increasing
size of the gamete stretches the tube and causes increased luminal pressure, this
results in abdominal pain for the mother and eventually the fallopian tube will rupture,
this terminates the pregnancy.
These events can lead to
massive intraabdominal hemorrhage and hypovolemic shock. Emergent surgical intervention
is needed.
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