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The mucosa lining the cervical canal is known as the endocervix, [5] and the mucosa covering the ectocervix is known as the exocervix. [6] The cervix has an inner mucosal layer, a thick layer of smooth muscle , and posteriorly the supravaginal portion has a serosal covering consisting of connective tissue and overlying peritoneum .
The cervical canal is generally lined by "endocervical mucosa" which consists of a single layer of mucinous columnar epithelium. However, after menopause, the functional squamocolumnar junction moves into the cervical canal, and hence the distal part of the cervical canal may be lined by stratified squamous epithelium (conforming to a "type 3 transformation zone").
The cause of CIN is chronic infection of the cervix with HPV, especially infection with high-risk HPV types 16 or 18. It is thought that the high-risk HPV infections have the ability to inactivate tumor suppressor genes such as the p53 gene and the RB gene, thus allowing the infected cells to grow unchecked and accumulate successive mutations, eventually leading to cancer.
Colposcopy (Ancient Greek: κόλπος, romanized: kolpos, lit. 'hollow, womb, vagina' + skopos 'look at') is a medical diagnostic procedure to visually examine the cervix as well as the vagina and vulva using a colposcope.
Endocervical curettage is a medical procedure used to extract cells of the endocervix to visualize under a microscope. Direct cervical visualization, colposcopy, and even endocervical colposcopy are not enough to fully analyze all areas of the endocervical epithelium and thus endocervical curettage is the method of choice in cases where this is necessary.
The FDA Compliant disposable SoftBiopsy can be used to biopsy the exocervix and lower genital tract during colposcopy or when a suspicious lesion is detected. Unlike the “sharp edge” biopsy design of gynecological biopsy devices, the SoftBiopsy design is intended to gently frictionally abrade and collect abundant trans-epithelial tissue ...
Symptoms depend on whether the cervical canal is partially or completely obstructed and on the patient's menopausal status. Pre-menopausal patients may have a build up of blood inside the uterus which may cause infection, sporadic bleeding, or pelvic pain.
In regard to the cervix, squamous metaplasia can sometimes be found in the endocervix, as it is composed of simple columnar epithelium, whereas the ectocervix is composed of stratified squamous non-keratinized epithelium. [2]