Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a collection of symptoms and problems that affects approximately  1 in 10  women in the reproductive age group.

The word syndrome indicates a disease or disorder that can produce a different set of symptoms and signs in different individuals. The word syndrome can also mean a collection of symptoms and signs which may be the result of  different disorders. Both these meanings are applicable in PCOS.

The term ‘polycystic ovaries’ often frightens people, and the commonest misconception is that there are multiple big cysts in the ovaries. In PCOS, the ‘cysts’ are actually eggs which fail to mature properly and release from the ovary. Thus, appearing like multiple small dots in the ovary, on ultrasonography.