Pelvic congestion syndrome (also known as pelvic vein incompetence) is a chronic medical condition in women caused by varicose veins in the lower abdomen. The condition causes chronic pain, often manifesting as a constant dull ache, which can be aggravated by standing. Early treatment options include pain medication, alternative therapies such as acupuncture, and suppression of ovarian function. Surgery can be done using noninvasive transcatheter techniques to embolize the varicose veins. Up to 80% of women obtain relief using this method.

The condition can occur as a result of pregnancy or for unknown reasons. The presence of estrogen in the body causes vasodilation, which can result in the accumulation of blood in the veins in the pelvic area. Estrogen can weaken the vein walls, leading to the changes that cause varicosities. Up to 15% of all women have varicose veins in the abdominal area, but not all have symptoms.

Women with this condition experience a constant pain that may be dull and aching, but is occasionally more acute. The pain is worse at the end of the day and after long periods of standing, and sufferers get relief when they lie down. The pain is worse during or after sexual intercourse, and can be worse just before the onset of the menstrual period.

Women with pelvic congestion syndrome have a larger uterus and a thicker endometrium. 56% of women manifest cystic changes to the ovaries, and many report other symptoms, such as dysmenorrhea, back pain, vaginal discharge, abdominal bloating, mood swings or depression, and fatigue.

In medicine, ovarian vein syndrome is a rare (possibly not uncommon, certainly under-diagnosed) condition in which a dilated ovarian vein compresses the ureter (the tube that brings the urine from the kidney to the bladder). This causes chronic or colicky abdominal pain, back pain and/or pelvic pain. The pain can worsen on lying down or between ovulation and menstruation. There can also be an increased tendency towards urinary tract infection or pyelonephritis (kidney infection). The right ovarian vein is most commonly involved, although the disease can be left-sided or affect both sides. It is currently classified as a form of pelvic congestion syndrome.

Normally, the ovarian vein crosses over the ureter at the level of the fourth or fifth lumbar vertebral bone. The ureter itself courses over the external iliac artery and vein. Thus, these vessels can impinge on the ureter causing obstruction. The left ovarian vein ends in the renal vein whereas the right ovarian vein normally enters into the inferior vena cava. In the case of right ovarian vein syndrome, the vein often ends in the renal vein. This is thought to contribute to venous engorgement, in analogy to what is seen in varicoceles, which arise more commonly on the left side. The straight angle between the ovarian vein (or testicular vein in males in the case of varicocoele) and the renal vein has been proposed as a cause of decreased blood return.

A related diagnosis is "Nutcraker Syndrome" where the left renal vein is described as being compressed between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery. This is reported to cause collateral flow paths to open up to drain the left kidney i.e. reversed flow (reflux caudally) in the left renal vein. Pelvic Congestion Syndrome, vaginal and vulval varices, lower limb varices are clinical sequelae. Virtually all such patient are female and have been pregnant, often multiply.

The ovarian vein often displays incompetent valves. This has been observed more often in women with a higher number of previous pregnancies. Pressure from the baby might hinder the return of blood through the ovarian vein. It has to be noted however that dilation of the urinary tract is a normal observation in pregnancy, due to mechanical compression and the hormonal action of progesterone. Ovarian vein dilatation might also follow venous thrombosis (clotting inside the vein).

Another proposed mechanism of obstruction is when the ovarian vein and ureter both run through a sheath of fibrous tissue, following a local inflammation. This could be seen as a localised form of retroperitoneal fibrosis.

Following obstruction, the ureter displays an abnormal peristalsis (contractions) towards the kidney instead of towards the bladder. This is thought to cause the colicky pain (similar to renal colic), and it is relieved after surgical decompression.

Prostatic congestion is a medical condition of the prostate gland that happens when the prostate becomes swollen by excess fluid and can be caused by prostatosis. The condition often results in a sufferer feeling the urge to urinate frequently.

The cause of LPHS is not known. One theory proposes that it is caused by a thin glomerular basement membrane and red blood cell (RBC) renal tubular congestion that leads to swelling of the kidney and distension of the renal fascia resulting in pain.

Researchers have hypothesized that the syndrome may be due to blood vessel diseases of the kidney, spasms of the kidney vessels, or other bleeding disorders (coagulopathy).

The hematuria in LPHS may be due to an abnormal (thick or thin) glomerular basement membrane. The glomerular basement membrane is a tissue in the kidney that filters the blood. An abnormal glomerular basement membrane may allow red blood cells into the urinary space. Because kidney stones are so common in people with LPHS, crystals in the kidney tubules may also play a part in bleeding and pain.

Other speculations on cause include

- IgA nephropathy. This is a condition in which small amount of a type of normal antibody (called IgA) get stuck in the kidney as it passes through in the bloodstream. This is a chronic condition, which sometimes goes away on its own but occasionally can cause damage to the kidneys. A related condition called IgM nephropathy can sometimes cause pain.

- Thin membrane disease. In this condition the membrane that filters the blood to make urine is too thin, and blood can pass across it in very small amounts. In a few cases of this condition, there is pain in the kidneys, usually occurring in attacks every so often. Although this condition can be painful, kidney failure does not seem to occur in the long term, so that the only real problem is the symptoms.

- Infection. In some cases, loin pain-haematuria syndrome occurs after a bladder infection with involvement of the kidney. Even when the infection has been treated and bugs can no longer be found in the urine, pain may persist for 6 months, or even longer in some cases.

- "Classic loin pain-haematuria syndrome". Some patients have none of the above diagnoses. In these cases there may be minor abnormalities on a kidney biopsy. Angiogram tests to look at the blood vessels in the kidney may show abnormal blood flow, perhaps causing a cramp like pain. The cause is not fully understood. It certainly is [more common] in women than in men, and there may be hormonal influences. Some women find the pain is worse at different times of their menstrual cycle, or comes on during pregnancy, or if they are taking [oral contraceptives].

It has also been reported to be caused by microscopic granules of calcium oxylate into the glomerulus itself, causing blood vessels to rupture and increase the distention of the renal capsule.

This condition may persist for some years, and can be lifelong. Damage to the kidneys leading to kidney failure does not occur. However, because LPHS is unusual in patients older than 60 years, some clinicians believe that LPHS eventually resolves.

At this time no cure has been found for this disease. LPHS is a debilitating disease due to chronic pain and the inability to know how to control the glomerular aspect. The pain of LPHS can be worsened by acts as simple as riding in the car and undertaking daily activities. Many people with this disease are unable to maintain employment due to the debilitating pain.

A thin glomerular basement membrane, as in thin basement membrane disease, is proposed to be the characteristic finding on renal biopsy, but not part of the syndrome definition.

Endometrosis is a chronic degenerative syndrome of the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) in mares. The cause is unknown, but the severity of endometrosis increases in parallel with the age and number of pregnancies of the mare. Endometrosis is confirmed by histological examination of an endometrial biopsy, which shows degeneration of blood vessels in the endometrium, and fibrosis of the tissue, along with the development of endometrial cysts. These changes cause subfertility; in pregnant mares, the changes in the endometrium can cause the placenta to fail, leading to miscarriage of the foal. Foals which are delivered at full term may be underdeveloped (dysmature). No effective treatment is known.

The etymology of endometrosis is from the Greek "endos" (inside), "metra" (womb) and "-osis" (disease). This term was adopted in 1992; prior to that, endometrosis was variously known as chronic degenerative endometritis, endometrial fibrosis, or chronic endometrial disease.

The most common causes of nipple inversion include:

- Born with condition

- Trauma which can be caused by conditions such as fat necrosis, scars or it may be a result of surgery

- Breast sagging, drooping or ptosis

- Breast cancer

- breast carcinoma

- Paget's disease

- Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)

- Breast infections or inflammations

- mammary duct ectasia

- breast abscess

- mastitis

- Genetic variant of nipple shape such as

- Weaver syndrome

- congenital disorder of glycosylation type 1A & 1 L

- Kennerknecht-Sorgo-Oberhoffer syndrome

- Gynecomastia

- Holoprosencephaly, recurrent infections and monocytosis

- Tuberculosis

Around 10–20% of all women are born with this condition. Most common nipple variations that women are born with are caused by short ducts or a wide areola muscle sphincter.

Inverted nipples can also occur after sudden and major weight loss.

The duct widening is commonly believed to be a result of secretory stasis, including stagnant colostrum, which also causes periductal inflammation and fibrosis. However, because nonspecific duct widening is common it might be also coincidental finding in many processes.

Smokers seem more often affected by duct ectasia "syndrome" although the reported results are not entirely consistent. The correlation with smoking status appears weaker than for subareolar abscess. Correlation with the actual duct widening is not known.

Both duct widening and duct ectasia syndrome are frequently bilateral, hence systemic causes are likely involved.

The term has several meanings on histological and symptomatic levels and on both levels "usage" overlaps with mastalgia, fibrocystic disease and specific sub- or superclasses of nonpuerperal mastitis. While this is not ideal for a definition it results from actual usage in international literature. Because research literature regarding duct ectasia is anything but abundant it is probably easiest to determine the exact meaning(s) intended by the respective authors on a case by case basis and this section can offer only a few hints.

Typical usage in North America is a synonym of nonpuerperal mastitis, including the special cases of granulomatous mastitis, comedo mastitis, subareolar abscess with or without squamous metaplasia of lactiferous ducts and fistulation.

Simple duct widening should be carefully distinguished from more complex histological changes.

The nutcracker syndrome (NCS) results most commonly from the compression of the left renal vein between the abdominal aorta (AA) and superior mesenteric artery (SMA), although other variants exist. The name derives from the fact that, in the sagittal plane and/or transverse plane, the SMA and AA (with some imagination) appear to be a nutcracker crushing a nut (the renal vein).

There is a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and diagnostic criteria are not well defined, which frequently results in delayed or incorrect diagnosis.

This condition is not to be confused with superior mesenteric artery syndrome, which is the compression of the third portion of the duodenum by the SMA and the AA.

NCS is associated with hematuria (which can lead to anemia) and abdominal pain (classically left flank or pelvic pain).

Since the left gonadal vein drains via the left renal vein it can also result in left testicular pain in men or left lower quadrant pain in women. Nausea and vomiting can result due to compression of the splanchnic veins. An unusual manifestation of NCS includes varicocele formation and varicose veins in the lower limbs. Another clinical study has shown that nutcracker syndrome is a frequent finding in varicocele-affected patients and possibly, nutcracker syndrome should be routinely excluded as a possible cause of varicocele and pelvic congestion.

Blue balls is a slang term for the condition of temporary fluid congestion (vasocongestion) in the testicles accompanied by testicular pain, caused by prolonged sexual arousal in the human male without ejaculation. The term is thought to have originated in the United States, first appearing in 1916. Some urologists call this condition "epididymal hypertension". The condition is not experienced by all males.

Individuals with inverted nipples may find that their nipples protract (come out) temporarily or permanently during pregnancy, or as a result of breastfeeding. Most women with inverted nipples who give birth are able to breastfeed without complication, but inexperienced mothers may experience higher than average pain and soreness when initially attempting to breastfeed. When a mother uses proper breastfeeding technique, the infant latches onto the areola, not the nipple, so women with inverted nipples are actually able to breastfeed without any problem. An infant that latches on well may be able to slush out an inverted nipple. The use of a breast pump or other suction device immediately before a feeding may help to draw out inverted nipples. A hospital grade electric pump may be used for this purpose. Some women also find that using a nipple shield can help facilitate breastfeeding. Frequent stimulation such as sexual intercourse and foreplay (such as nipple sucking) also helps the nipple protract.

Vascular congestion is the engorgement of an entity, such as the blood vessels of the erectile tissues, with blood. It is known to occur with deep venous thrombosis (DVT).

Honeymoon rhinitis is a condition in which the sufferer experiences nasal congestion during sexual intercourse.

The condition appears to be genetically determined, and caused by the presence in the nose of erectile tissue which may become engorged during sexual arousal as a side effect of the signals from the autonomic nervous system that trigger changes in the genitals of both men and women.

A related condition called sexually induced sneezing also exists, where people sneeze, sometimes uncontrollably, when engaging in or even thinking about sexual activity.

A phenomenon presumably related to 'honeymoon rhinitis' is the occurrence of nasal congestion as a reported side effect of Viagra use.

Although widely discussed, there had been scant information in medical research literature aside from a brief article by Chalett and Nerenberg in "Pediatrics" 2000, which found little formal data existed regarding the condition, but concluded that "[t]he treatment is sexual release, or perhaps straining to move a very heavy object — in essence doing a Valsalva maneuver."

Mirizzi's syndrome occurs in approximately 0.1% of patients with gallstones. It is found in 0.7 to 2.5 percent of cholecystectomies.

It affects males and females equally, but tends to affect older people more often. There is no evidence of race having any bearing on the epidemiology.

A Zahn infarct is a pseudo-infarction of the liver, consisting of an area of congestion with parenchymal atrophy but no necrosis, and usually due to obstruction of a branch of the portal vein. Zahn infarcts are unique in that there is collateral congestion of liver sinusoids that do not include areas of anoxia seen in most infarcts. Fibrotic tissue may develop in the area of the infarct and it could be caused by an occlusive phlebitis in portal vein radicles. Non ischemic infarct of liver with lines of Zahn.

Mirizzi's syndrome is a rare complication in which a gallstone becomes impacted in the cystic duct or neck of the gallbladder causing compression of the common bile duct (CBD) or common hepatic duct, resulting in obstruction and jaundice. The obstructive jaundice can be caused by direct extrinsic compression by the stone or from fibrosis caused by chronic cholecystitis (inflammation). A cholecystocholedochal fistula can occur.

The reason for its occurrence is unknown. Investigations have suspected that obesity and preceding psoriatic lesions cause local lymphatic disturbances, followed by the development of stasis papillomatosis. On the other hand, genetic or environmental factors may play a role. Some investigators have speculated that it represents an allergic response to an epidermal protein antigen created through increased hydrostatic pressure, whereas others believe that the skin has been compromised and is more susceptible to irritation and trauma.

The age is an important factor, because as some people get older the veins which carry blood from the legs back to the heart do not work as well as they use to. This causes fluid to settle in the lower legs.

The most important cause of this condition is insufficient lymphatic drainage, causing soft tissue swelling due to fluid accumulation. Obstruction of lymphatic tissue causes increased intravascular tissue protein; this will increase the production of fibroblasts and mast cells. Lymphatic obstruction due to any cause can increase the amount of proteins in the intravascular tissue, either by root osmotic pressure, or because it absorbs a little liquid. The further roteins increase the vascular fluid, fibroblasts and promote the ploriferation of mast cells which produce the clinical symptoms of nonpitting edema. The epidermis may be hyperkeratotic and warty and this predisposes to tissue cracks and allows secondary infection.

Nasal polyps resulting from chronic rhinosinusitis affect approximately 4.3% of the population. Nasal polyps occur more frequently in men than women and are more common as people get older, increasing drastically after the age of 40.

Of people with chronic rhinosinusitis, 10% to 54% also have allergies. An estimated 40% to 80% of people with sensitivity to aspirin will develop nasal polyposis. In people with cystic fibrosis, nasal polyps are noted in 37% to 48%.

MCAS is a relatively new diagnosis, being unnamed until 2007, and is believed to be very under-diagnosed. New findings are revealing that MCAS is much more prevalent than previously thought.

This disease is caused by problems in the circulatory system, so when it is presented, in the beginning it is important to follow several recommendations. The person needs to keep the legs elevated as much as possible to help the return of the blood. Whenever sitting down, the person needs to keep the legs on a foot stool. At night it is advisable to sleep with a pillow under the lower legs. In the evening, t is not unusual for legs to be swollen. The volume of the lower leg can increase to up to 100ml after a long working day or up to 200ml after a long-haul flight without moving.

In the example of the 41-year-old Japanese man the lesions were much improved by washing and topical use of corticosteroids for two months, also oral antibiotics like cephalexin are used if cellulitis is present. Moist exudative inflammation and moist ulcers respond to tepid wet compresses of Burow’s solution or just saline or water for 30 to 60 minutes several times a day. But in worse cases, edema that does not disappear spontaneously within a few hours or after a walk, is described as pathological, so it needs to have a special treatment. It is very important to say that Papillamitosis, bilateral and marked edema with few symptoms is mostly caused by the systemic circulation (heart, kidneys, liver).

Papillamitosis is associated, as has been mentioned before, with symptoms and/or clinical signs such as dilated superficial veins, varicose veins and changes in the skin. Edema and its complication Papillamitosis are only partially reversible and soon becomes hard, which is mainly confirmed on palpation. All skin structures are affected and this is characterized by the term. Lymphoedema may develop in many cases accompanied by acral thickening of the skin folds, hyperkeratosis and papillomatosis.