Background: To investigate whether the conjunctival epithelium shows cyclical maturation changes during the ovarian cycle and to study the cytological appearance of the conjunctiva in postmenopausal and pregnant women.
Patients: Fifteen menstruating women with ovulatory cycles, ten postmenopausal women, and twelve pregnant women in the second or the third trimester of their pregnancy.
Interventions: Conjunctival and vaginal smears were taken on a near-daily basis.
Main outcome measures: The percentage of the parabasal, the intermediate and the superficial cells (Maturation Index) in each specimen was determined.
Results: In the conjunctival smears of the menstruating women cyclical maturation changes were noted. These changes were parallel to those of the vaginal smears, but to a minor degree. No cyclical changes were found in either the postmenopausal women or in the pregnant women, showing an extreme shift to the left in the Maturation Index.
Conclusion: Conjunctiva appears to be a relatively estrogen-sensitive epithelium.