Morphologic studies on the non-cancerous cervix in Jamaicans at different ages

ABSTRACT

A morphologic investigation on 100 cervices removed at autopsy from negro Jamaian women at different ages showed that columnar epithelium was frequently located on the portio vaginalis at all ages. The absence of this phenomenon in some fetal cervices supports the hpothesis of embryologic displacement rather than stimulation by maternal estrogens. Squamous metaplasia was common at all ages, even in the fetus; it showed little relationship to chronic inflammation, but the high frequency in post-pubertal cases (80 percent) could have some relationship to the high incidence of cervical cancer in Jamaica. Chronic inflammation was not observed in the fetal cervix but occurred in most infants in whom it was attributed to congenital "erosion". However, the cervices of children revealed a marked discrepancy between the presence of "erosion" and the degree and frequency of chronic inflamation (83 percent). This change is unexplained and requires further study (AU)