J.W. Roddick

Connective tissue changes incident to cervical effacement

LITTLE inquiry has been directed toward the specific changes which occur in the human cervix to permit effacement and consequent dilatation without injury. It is well known that the nonpregnant cervix is rigid, that it can be dilated only by much force, and that this forcible dilatation may be accompanied by injury or tearing. During pregnancy the cervix becomes softer, but it still cannot be dilated easily except in the event of miscarriage or the onset of labor. In the former case it dilates prior to the passage of any tissue, such that a large Hegar dilator can be introduced with ease; in the latter case it may remain rigid in early labor such that forcible dilatation is impossible. As labor progresses it becomes softer and thinner and dilates without injury to permit the passage of the head. Within a week of delivery, a portion of its old rigidity has returned, and within a month there is little evidence of this dramatic series of events. It is curious that so little effort has been made to explain these Ph enomena.

The hormonal response of endometrium in endometriotic implants and its relationship to symptomatology

Abstract 1. 1. Endometrial implants with sufficient tissue to allow recognition of the status in the endometrial cycle are relatively difficult to obtain. 2. 2. Ectopic endometrium corresponded in phase to the uterine endometrium in the majority of the 88 cases studied. 3. 3. In some instances, the ectopic endometrium, while corresponding in phase in general, is more or less ahead of the uterine endometrium in response. 4. 4. The presence or absence of symptoms and/or findings in a given patient was not shown to be dependent upon the endocrine response of the endometriosis in this series. 5. 5. Various individual symptoms and signs have been discussed.

Isozymes of lactic dehydrogenase in normal endometrium

Abstract Electrophoretic separation of the fractions of lactic dehydrogenase in normal endometrium has been described. Fractions I, II, and III predominate in the proliferative phase of the cycle, while fractions III, IV, and V are most marked in the secretory phase. Endometrium of pregnancy and that from patients using oral progestins is similar to secretory endometrium in this respect. The suggestion that fractions IV and V are those most involved in anaerobic glycolysis has likewise been discussed.

Relation of ovarian stromal hyperplasia to endometrial carcinoma. II. A comparison of autopsy and surgical controls.

Abstract 1. 1. Ovaries from autopsy specimens from postmenopausal women have been studied and compared with those obtained at the operating table from patients with and without endometrial carcinoma. 2. 2. The findings indicate that while there is no difference between the two surgical groups, they both vary, in some cases significantly, from the autopsy group. 3. 3. Findings compatible with a diagnosis of “ovarian stromal hyperplasia” are more frequent in the surgical groups than in the autopsy group, a fact previously pointed out by others. In this case, the surgical groups include ovaries from both controls and patients with carcinoma which have previously been shown to be almost identical. 4. 4. A real difference between the ovaries from autopsy specimens and operative specimens has been demonstrated.

The epithelium of the uterine tube and cervix in patients with endometrial carcinoma: A search for estrogenic effect

Abstract 1. 1. The uterine tubes of 37 postmenopausal women with endometrial carcinoma have been compared with those from 47 normal postmenopausal women. The cervices of 34 of the former have likewise been compared with 36 of the latter. 2. 2. No significant differences were found in these two groups, either in the cervices or in the tubes, in respect to evidence of estrogenic stimulation.