Affiliations: [a] Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Switzerland | [b] Department of Gynecology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland | [c] Institute for Mechanical Systems, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Stephan Weiss, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University and ETH Zurich, Gloriastrasse 35, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 1 632 27 94; Fax: +41 1 632 11 93; E-mail: weiss@biomed.ee.ethz.ch.
Abstract: The behaviour of the human uterus under an internal (intracavital) pressure of 150 mm Hg (20 kPa) was modelled. The application of such an intracavital or intrauterine pressure corresponds to the procedure which is performed at the beginning of hysteroscopy (hydrometra). Homogenous, isotropic material laws were implemented in a three dimensional, finite element model. The volume of the distended uterine cavity was calculated with different parameters obtained from in vivo aspiration experiments on human uteri as well as from ex vivo tensile tests on rabbit uteri for comparison purposes. The calculated results were in general agreement with in vivo measurements of hydrometra performed at the University Hospital of Zurich.
