Charles E. Graham

Chimpanzee Endometrium and Sexual Swelling during Menstrual Cycle or Hormone Administration

Endometrial histology in the chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ) was found to be essentially similar to that of the human throughout the menstrual cycle. Proliferative features were associ

Uterine cervical epithelium of fetal and immature human females in relation to estrogenic stimulation

Abstract It has elsewhere been shown that estrogenic stimulation alters the histologic structure of the cervical squamocolumnar junction in mice. In order to determine if similar estrogen-controlled changes take place in the human, sections of cervix were examined from fetuses stimulated by maternal estrogen, and from nonstimulated immature females. Two types of junction were observed, being associated respectively with cervices showing positive and negative evidence of estrogenic stimulation. Certain histologic appearances were observed which are usually regarded as evidence that squamous metaplasia is in progress, and their existence was inversely correlated with evidence of estrogenic stimulation. It was concluded that the histologic character of the human squamocolumnar junction is determined by the level of estrogenic stimulation and that the histologic evidence usually advanced in favor of metaplasia is in fact open to more than one interpretation.

Response of the rhesus monkey uterine cervix to chronic estrogenic stimulation.

This study investigates the changes in the columnar epithelium of the endocervix of rhesus monkeys following chronic estrogenic stimulation. 4 ovariectomized animals were administered estrone daily and killed at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment; findings were compared to those from 2 ovariectomized animals which had been treated with only 4 injections of physiologic doses of estrone. As had been reported by previous studies, results showed a great response of stratified squamous epithelium throughout the endocervical canal. However, foci of squamous cells also were found scattered throughout the cervical canal of controls which were stimulated by physiologic doses, thus showing that squamous cells are normal components of the cervix; such areas, however, are difficult to recognize in unstimulated animals, but become recognizable after estrogenic stimulation. It is probable that foci of stratified squamous epithelium are normal components of the cervix, and that the stratified epithelium which is formed during chronic estrogenic stimulation arises by the proliferation and extension of these areas. There is no evidence for the origin of stratified squamous epithelium from columnar cells, and consequently no justification for the use of the term metaplasia with regard to the chronically estrogen-stimulated Rhesus cervix.

Estrogen-induced changes at the cervical squamocolumnar junction of the squirrel monkey

Abstract Ovariectomized squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciurea) were treated with varying doses of estradiol benzoate and serial sections of the uterine cervix were compared with sections from unstimulated controls. The histologic character of the squamocolumnar junction was assessed and classified. It was found that estrogenic stimulation is capable of altering the histologic structure of this area somewhat similarly to the mouse and man.

Relationship of carcinogenesis and epidermization during 20-methylcholanthrene treatment of the mouse uterine cervix

Abstract New squamous stratified cpithelium (epidermization) was induced in the cervical canal of C 3 H mice 2 and 4 weeks after implantation of beeswax or beeswax and 20-methylcholanthrene-impregnated threads, thereby suggesting new models for the study of this phenomenon. Squamous carcinomas appeared in half of the animals treated for 4 weeks with methylcholanthrene, and in most cases, the location of the tumors indicated an origin from areas of benign epidermization or adjacent columnar cells, rather than from original endocervical stratified epithelium. Further, the evidence suggested that a disturbance of normal epithelial-mesenchymal relationships may be a possible factor in cervical carcinogenesis.

Lipofuscin: Identification and localization in monkey uterus

Abstract Large quantities of lipofuscin were identified histochemically in the uterus of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciurea). In the myometrium, the pigment was contained in macrophages, but in the endometrium it was chiefly present as extracellular aggregates. There was no evidence of an influence of ovarian hormones on the quantity or distribution of the pigment.

Mechanism of induced epidermization in the mouse uterine cervix: Age effects

Abstract At various intervals following implantation of 10 per cent diethylstilbestrol pellets into 3- or 4-month-old mice, the serially sectioned uterine cervices were compared with untreated control animals and with 1-month-old diethylstilbestrol-treated animals which were described in a previous study. It was observed that new stratified epithelium appeared in the cervices of older animals after shorter periods of treatment than in younger animals. No evidence of metaplasia could be detected during the present study, and it is concluded that there is an age factor influencing the development of stilbest rol-induced stratified epith elium, since evidence of metaplasia is associated with this process only in young animals.

Histochemistry of mouse cervical epithelium during chemical carcinogenesis.

SynopsisHistochemical investigations have been made on cryostat sections of mouse cervix implanted with either a beeswax-impregnated thread (control) or a 20-methylcholanthrene-impregnated thread in one of the cervical canals. New squamous epithelium (epidermization) and squamous carcinomas were observed in approximately 100% and 50% of the cases respectively, after 4–6 weeks. The 6-week animals showed more advanced tumours compared with the animals killed after 4 weeks. The glycogen staining of the cervical canals treated with beeswax- or methylcholanthrene-impregnated thread was greatly enhanced compared with the untreated control cervical canal. The activity of glycogen synthetase, phosphorylase and lactic dehydrogenase was enhanced in the treated part of the cervix. On the other hand, the activity of acid phosphatase and simple esterase was diminished in the cervical canal treated with beeswax- or methylcholanthrene-impregnated thread. Some other enzymes did not show any changes. Alkaline phosphatase preparations, however, showed significant reduction in the enzyme activity in the carcinogen-treated cervical canal compared with either the untreated or the beeswax-treated canal, an effect which could be specifically attributed to the effect of the carcinogen.

Significance of uterine lipofuscin in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciurea)

Lipofuscin pigment was identified histochemically as extracellular granules in the endometrium, and within macrophages in the myometrium, and also in many other organs often in considerable quantities in all of the animals studied. The origin of the uterine pigment is considered, and it is concluded that macrophages are probably involved in its transport to and from the endometrium and that deposition of pigment in the endometrium, followed by menstruation, provides a possible mechanism by which insoluble residues of cellular digestion may be eliminated from the body.

Distribution of lipofuscin in the squirrel monkeySaimiri sciurea

SynopsisThe body-wide distribution of a pigment present in many organs of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciurea) is described. The pigment, which was identified by histochemical techniques as lipofuscin, occurred intracellularly in some organs, and extracellularly in others.