The hollow, muscular organ in a female or biologically female body where a baby can develop before birth. It is part of the reproductive system.
From Latin 'uterus' meaning 'womb'. The word has been used in medical language for centuries with little change.
The uterus is only about the size of a small pear when not pregnant, yet can stretch to hold a full-term baby, placenta, and fluid. Its ability to grow and then shrink back down is one of the most dramatic changes in the human body.
The uterus has often been central to medical and social control over women’s bodies, with historical pathologizing of women’s emotions and identities as 'uterine' or 'hysterical'. Language around the uterus has frequently conflated anatomy with womanhood, erasing trans and intersex experiences.
Use 'uterus' as an anatomical term without equating it with being a woman; say 'people with a uterus' when gender is not the focus.
Research by women and gender-diverse clinicians has been crucial in challenging myths about the uterus and improving reproductive health care and autonomy.
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