Adhesion of shed menstrual tissue in an in-vitro model using amnion and peritoneum: a light and electron microscopic study

C.A.M. Koks
In: Human Reproduction · 1999 · vol. 14(3) , pp. 816–822 · doi:10.1093/humrep/14.3.816 · PMID:10221719 · W2119480149
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 56 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study investigated menstrual tissue adhesion to amnion and peritoneum in vitro, finding preferential adhesion to subepithelial structures and that intact mesothelium prevents adhesion.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

We have investigated the adhesion of endometrial tissue isolated from antegradely shed menstrual effluent to amnion and peritoneum. This endometrial tissue was cultured overnight on either side of intact and stripped amnion and on the mesothelial side of peritoneum. Light and electron microscopy were applied to evaluate adhesion. With light microscopy adhesion of endometrial fragments to stripped membranes was observed in nine out of 12 specimens and in 12 out of 13 specimens when layered on the extracellular matrix side of amnion. Adhesion when layered on the epithelial side was seen in only four out of 13 specimens. However, when using scanning electron microscopy adhesion of menstrual endometrial tissue could be visualized in all samples. Numerous adhering fragments were seen when layered on the extracellular matrix side of untreated amnion. On several occasions not only adhesion but also spreading of cells was observed. When layered on the epithelial side of untreated amnion or peritoneum, adhesion was exclusively seen at locations where the epithelium was damaged or absent. These findings were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. These observations indicate that endometrial tissue isolated from antegradely shed menstrual effluent preferentially adheres to subepithelial structures of amnion and peritoneum. The lack of adhesion to epithelial cells suggests that an intact mesothelial lining prevents adhesion of menstrual endometrial tissue.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (24)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK