Dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

The causes and treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding vary with the patient's age and health. The evaluation can be organized according to physiologic age groups: menarche through adolescence; the childbearing period, and the perimenopausal and postmenopausal years. Dysfunctional bleeding is a diagnosis by exclusion and is related to the basic physiology of normal menstruation. Endometrial sampling, hysteroscopy, and dilatation and curettage are useful in evaluating the post-teenage patient.