Cervical Elongation - The Search for a Definition.

Objective:To evaluate the definition of the entity "cervical elongation", as it effects our clinical work and surgical outcome. Methods:A search of PubMed for publications since the year 2000 regarding "cervical elongation", in order to track the evolution in the understanding and assessing of the entity. Results:Out of 27,317 publications, 25,285 were in English and, after filtering those for "humans" and "cervical elongation in women", we ended up with 16 relevant publications. Conclusions:After reviewing the literature, we found that there was no consensus regarding either any aspect of "cervical elongation", or the proper way to measure the cervix, the threshold for definition or even the pathophysiology behind it.