Normal human endometrium. An ultrastructural survey

F J Cornillie, Freddy Cornillie, Cornillie FJ, J. M. Lauweryns, Lauweryns Jm, I A Brosens, Brosens IA, I Brosens
Gynecologic and obstetric investigation · 2010 · vol. 20(3) , pp. 113–129 · doi:10.1159/000298983 · PMID:4085915 · W2020981013
Other OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 13 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-13 ⓘ

This ultrastructural review details cyclic changes in human endometrial cells and microvasculature during proliferative and secretory phases, including epithelial development, stromal cell activity, and cellular involution.

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

Abstract

An ultrastructural review of the cyclic changes of endometrial surface and glandular epithelial cells, stromal cells and the stromal microvasculature is presented. Endometrial biopsies were collected from infertile patients with endometriosis or tubal dysfunction. During the proliferative phase, the ergastoplasm and Golgi apparatus of surface and glandular epithelial cells become well-developed, while increasing numbers of mitochondria are seen. In the early secretory phase, the postovulatory triad composed of glycogen accumulation, nuclear channel system and giant mitochondria is described and its functional significance is discussed. Premenstrual cellular involution due to enhanced lysosomal activity such as apoptosis and lysosomal wrapping is detailed. Before ovulation, the endometrial stromal cells are primarily involved in the secretion and remodelling of the extracellular connective tissue fibers and ground substance. After predecidual change, the stromal cells exhibit marked macropinocytotic and phagocytotic properties. We suggest that these proteolytic activities of the stromal cells, together with the presence of blood-derived phagocytes, may account for endometrial clearance, since there are no lymphatic channels in the superficial endometrium. According to this hypothesis, tissue fluid may be drained via the fenestrated (venous) endometrial blood capillaries.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometrium Menstrual Cycle Menstrual Cycle Cell Nucleolus Cell Nucleolus Cell Nucleolus Endometrium Endometrium Endoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic Reticulum Female Female Glycogen Glycogen Glycogen Humans Humans Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, Electron

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

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. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

Cited by (12)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-16T06:09:50.462052+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:51:10.529410+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK