Purpose: Under light microscopy, the authors observed the morphologic and morphometric features of the human uterine tube during the menstrual cycle.
Type of study: Experimental, prospective study. SITE: Escola Paulista de Medicina.
Patients: Specimens obtained from ten eumenorrheic, multigesta patients, ages ranging from 22 to 35 years.
Intervention: They were all submitted to salpingectomy because they showed a high reproductive risk. They were operated during the proliferating and secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. The isthmus, ampullae and infundibulum were studied under light microscopy.
Measurements and results: The authors observed that the epithelium of the human tube has a single layer of cylindrical and ciliated cells. Three kinds of cells were present: ciliated, secretory, and non-differentiated. Height of the epithelium was uniform in the secretory phase, but not in the isthmus and ampullae. Images of mitosis were rarely seen. In the isthmus, the number of secretory cells predominated in both phases of the cycle; in the ampullae, the number of ciliated cells was increased in the proliferation phase, while secretory cells were proeminent in the lutheal phase. In the infundibulum and fimbrae, ciliated cells were increased. Morphometric features of human uterine epithelium were studied during the menstrual cycle and showed: 1) the height of the epithelium in the ampullae was significantly higher in the proliferating phase; 2) the number of secretory cells was significantly higher in the isthmus, while in the infundibulum ciliated cells were increased in number in both phases of the cycle. The number of ciliated cells in the ampullae was significantly higher in the proliferating phase while secretory cells predominated in the secretory phase; 3) The nuclear volume of ciliated and secretory cells is not statistically significant in all regions during the two phases of the cycle.
Conclusions: The uterine tube epithelium shows cyclic modifications which are probably associated to its function in reproductive physiology.