What does metritis mean?
Metritis is a formal medical noun for inflammation of the uterus. In human medicine, its best-known use is for postpartum metritis, an infection or inflammatory condition affecting the uterine tissues after childbirth; the term can also appear in descriptions of non-postpartum uterine inflammation. Veterinary medicine uses metritis for uterine inflammation and infection in animals, often around the time of giving birth. Because it names a specific inflammatory disorder rather than a symptom or general abdominal pain, metritis belongs mainly to clinical and academic language rather than everyday conversation. It should not be confused with endometritis, which more precisely identifies inflammation confined chiefly to the uterine lining. The term remains useful for recognizing that pain after childbirth can reflect disease involving the uterus itself. Its Greek roots also make its meaning transparent to readers familiar with endometrium and myometrium, both of which refer to the uterus or its tissues. Overall, metritis is a precise specialist term for uterine inflammation and its clinically important postpartum form.
nounInflammation of the uterus, especially the postpartum form involving uterine tissues and blood vessels after childbirth. In veterinary medicine, the term is also used for uterine inflammation or infection around the time of parturition.
- Inflammation of the uterus, most commonly occurring as an infectious condition after childbirth and also used in veterinary medicine for uterine inflammation around parturition.
"Postpartum metritis can cause fever, abdominal pain, and bleeding after delivery."
"The patient developed postpartum metritis, which caused persistent fever and abdominal tenderness after delivery."
"The mare was treated for metritis after foaling."
The plural is rare in ordinary clinical writing; metritis is commonly used as a mass noun, with quantity expressed by cases of metritis.
"The veterinary team treated three cases of metritis after calving."
The Greek root behind metritis means womb, turning an ancient word for a body part into a precise name for inflammation of the uterus.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of metritis
Metritis was formed in English medical usage in the 19th century from a Latinized combination of Greek mētra, meaning womb or uterus, and the suffix -itis, meaning inflammation. Related medical terms such as endometrium, myometrium, and endometritis preserve the same Greek element, although they developed as separate anatomical or pathological formations.
How metritis is actually used
This is formal clinical terminology used in human obstetrics, gynecology, and veterinary medicine. In human medicine it is most often associated with postpartum uterine infection; in veterinary usage it may also describe broader uterine inflammation following the birth of an animal.
Easily confused with metritis
Metritis can refer to inflammation of the uterus more generally, whereas endometritis specifically names inflammation of the endometrium, the uterine lining.