leiomyoma uteri

uterine leiomyoma a leiomyoma of the uterus, usually occurring in the third and fourth decades of life, characterized by multiple, firm, round, sharply circumscribed, unencapsulated, gray to white tumors that show a whorled pattern on cut section. The majority are within the myometrium of the corpus of the uterus, but they may also occur in the cervix, usually in its posterior wall. Those in the corpus are distinguished by location as either intramural, submucosal, or subserosal leiomyomas. Called also fibromyoma uteri, uterine myoma, and, colloquially, fibroids.

Multiple leiomyomas in a sagittal section of the uterus.