What is the difference between a bicornuate uterus and a septate uterus?

Bicornuate uterus and septate uterus may be diseases that some friends may confuse. Septate uterus is mainly caused by an obstruction in a certain process of septum absorption, while bicornuate uterus is caused by the degeneration of the septum, resulting in a single cervix and a single vagina.

Septate uterus:

After the bilateral paramesonephric ducts are completely fused, the absorption of the septum is impaired, resulting in a septate uterus, which is divided into complete septate uterus and incomplete septate uterus.

Bicornuate uterus:

This is because the tail end of the paramesonephric duct has been mostly fused and the mediastinum has degenerated, forming a single cervix and a single vagina, incomplete fusion of the uterine fundus, and a bicornuate uterus. The bicornuate uterus can be divided into a complete bicornuate uterus and an incomplete bicornuate uterus.

Differences between septate uterus and bicornuate uterus:

The fundus of a bicornuate uterus is saddle-shaped with protruding horns, while the fundus of a uterine septum is normal in appearance.

Ultrasound imaging features of the septate uterus: Cross-section: The transverse diameter of the uterus is relatively wide, and an attenuated mediastinal echo can be seen in the center of the uterine body, and two uterine bodies are visible. Longitudinal section: When the probe moves slowly from one side of the uterus to the opposite side, one uterine body disappears first and then a unified echo appears.

1. Complete septate uterine septum extends from the fundus of the uterus to the internal os of the cervix.

2. Incomplete septum: The uterine septum extends from the fundus of the uterus but does not reach the level of the internal cervical os, and only separates the cervix.

The ultrasound imaging characteristics of a bicornuate uterus are that the cross-section of the uterine body and cervix is ​​relatively wide, but two horn-shaped uterine horns can be seen in the cross-section of the uterine fundus. Lobed uterine cavity waves can be seen in the two horns, showing that the uterine fundus is concave inward, forming the so-called saddle-shaped uterus.