[Unusual cause for the development of hemoperitoneum]

The authors describe an unusual origin of haemoperitoneum in a young woman. The hemoperitoneum appeared twice in a period of 10 months. The first attack was mild and atypic. In both cases the hemoperitoneum was preceded by a sexual intercourse, during which the ovary resp. the ovarian cyst were injured. The authors suggest that the coital rupture of the ovary is a very common cause of these states. The diagnosis of inapparent bleeding in the abdominal cavity is always very difficult and without laparoscopic examination almost impossible. The full developed hemoperitoneum with all its clinical signs does not implicate diagnostic difficulties, but the state of these women is very serious. The diagnosis will be a problem, when the bleeding occurs slowly, without pain and without known aetiology.