[Examination of the uterine cervix using the scanning electron microscope]. / Examen du col utérin au microscope électronique à balayage

Scanning by electron microscopy of the cervix of the uterus allows us to study the various aspects, both normal and pathological, as well as the architecture of sections of the organ. All the same, as in all practical examinations carried out using scanning we have to beware of pictures that are but artefacts due to the method of preparation. The views obtained from a normal cervix of from pathological cervices show very different aspects. In the normal cervix the surfaces are more or less smooth and the architecture of the deeper levels shows a thick and regular texture. Infectious lesions of the outer aspect of the cervix show punched-out patterns, like craters, which penetrate more or less deeply into the sub-epithelial plane. While cervical dysplasia shows little except perhaps a more or less bossed-up epithelial surface, cancer of the cervix on the other hand shows a pavement pattern which is irregular. The pavements are formed by buds which are separated by faults which are more or less deep. In section the structures show a degree of disorientation in the texture. After treatment with radium the appearance is rather like ground glass of spiders webs and the architecture of the structures seems to be pock-marked and chaotic.

[Plasma hormonal pattern of the late diabetic pregnancy (author's transl)]. / Hormonologie plasmatique de la grossesse diabétique lors des dernières semaines.

Plasma estradiol, estriol, progesterone, H.C.S. and cortisol were measured (RIA methods) every two days, in 20 diabetic pregnancies (classes B, C or D of White), between the 33th week and the delivery, and were compared with normal pregnancies. Estriol was always normal, and progesterone values were at the upper limit of the normal range; estradiol, H.C.S. and cortisol were normal or elevated, with mean values significantly higher than controls. E2 and/or progesterone dramatically decreased in 5 cases before birth, just as the urinary measurements. In this study, the insulin requirements were not correlated with these plasma hormone values. Besides pathogenic hypothesis )glycemic control of H.C.S. and cortisol--abnormalities of metabolic pathways of estrogens ?), this work informs the inferred hormonal deficiency in diabetic placenta. Also, it is unable to determine the practical usefulness of these plasma measurements in the management of diabetic pregnancy.