For seven to eight months, a 36-year-old woman in India had heavy, drawn-out periods, cramping pain, and something more alarming: pieces of tissue coming out with the blood. When doctors examined her, they found a soft, reddish-brown mass about 5 by 5 centimeters at the opening of her cervix. Once it was removed, the tissue turned out to resemble a mold of the inside of her uterus.
The condition is called membranous dysmenorrhea. Instead of breaking into small pieces during a period, the uterine lining detaches and comes out in a single piece, known as an endometrial or decidual cast. Obstetricians at Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre in Pimpri, Pune, described the case in the September 2026 issue of the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research.
