EXPERIMENTS ON ENDOMETRIAL HYPERPLASIA*†

The pathological entity now known as endometrial hyperplasia has been recognized for some time. It was not until after the work of Hitschmann and Adler that it could be interpreted as a non-inflammatory condition. Previous to the work of these investigators it had been generally considered to be a form of hypertrophic endometritis. The noteworthy exception to this statement is the view which was expressed by Cullen in 1900. He described this condition in his book on cancer of the uterus (3) as “endometrial hyperplasia.” The condition is extremely common and is met with most frequently at the time of the menopause, although it can occur at any age. On account of its frequency, and tendency to recur, it has inspired a voluminous literature. Recent advances in the field of the internal secretions have attracted the interest of almost all gynecologists, and many have hoped that these advances would explain the nature and etiology of endometrial hyperplasia. Schroeder (12) was the first to recognize the condition as being due to a disturbance of the ovaries. He found that cystic follicles were usually present but that there were no corpora lutea. His views have been confirmed in many recent contributions, notably by Wilfred Shaw (13), Novak and Martzloff (11), Graves (7) and others, and the condition is now universally recognized as being the result of an endocrine disorder.