PCOS seems to have dated back to the 1700’s , however, formal diagnosis criteria was not presented until the 1990’s.
1721
- An Italian physician and medical scientist named Vallisneri described, “a married, infertile woman with shiny ovaries with a white surface and the size of ovaries as pigeon eggs” (Szydlarska et al., 2017).
1844
- Bulius and Kretschmar described the presence of nests or clusters in the ovaries, also known as hyperthecosis.
1879
- Lawson Tait suggested total removal of the ovaries to treat these cysts.
1915
- Total ovarian resection is criticized, John McGlinn suggests puncturing the cysts on the surface.
1935- Stein and Leventhal
- Presented a group of seven women with similar characteristics such as hirsutism, menstrual disturbances, and enlarged ovaries with the presence of follicles.
- Suggested using an ovarian wedge resection for treatment.
- Method showed to be successful in regulating menstrual cycles.
1990’s
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) held PCOS conference to create and propose formal diagnosis criteria.
- NIH criteria includes: symptoms of excess androgens, rare ovulations, and exclusion of other disorders with similar clinical symptoms.
2003
- Rotterdam criteria is created during a PCOS conference in the Netherlands.
- Criteria is broader and more inclusive.
- This criteria is still the most widely used and accepted.
