PATH: Reproductive System Histo Flashcards
Lining (membrane) of body passages and cavities that communicate directly or indirectly with the exterior (commonly containing mucin-secreting glands)
Mucosa
Outermost layer (covering) of an organ in a serosal cavity (peritoneal, pleural or pericardial) consisting of fibroelastic tissue covered by mesothelium continuous with the lining of the cavity
Serosa
The space between the organized cellular element of a tissue
Interstitium
Acellular fibrous (collagenous) membrane separating the organized cellular elements of a tissue from the interstitium
Basement membrane
The purely cellular avascular layer covering and lining all the external and internal surfaces of the body and associated glands
Epithelium
The functional tissue of an organ, which performs the function of the organ
Parenchyma
The supportive connective tissue around the parenchyma
Stroma
Why does menstruation occur?
Menstruation occurs due to the regression of the corpus luteum and the abrupt loss of estradiol and progesterone cause the endometrial lining and blood to be sloughed
Why might you see neutrophils in the endometrium close to menses?
Neutrophils are present because they are there prepared to attack infection (common in the endometrium).
Describe proliferative endometrium.
narrow and straight glands lined with pseudostatified epithelium and stroma with spindle-shaped cells (may see mitoses)
Describe early secretory endometrium.
Glands have a more “cork-screw shape” and the funcitonalis is more edematous (pushing glands apart).
What feature of early secretory endometrium is a “hint” that ovulation has occurred?
prominent basal cytoplasmic vacuoles (which begin 36-48 hours post-ovulation and are evidence that it has occurred)
Describe late secretory endometrium.
tortuous dilated glands containing secretions
Has the oocyte in the primordial follicle completed meiosis?
No, completion of meiosis I does not occur until ovulation
What does the primary follicle have that the primordial follicle does not have?
continuous layer of follicle cells (granulosa cells)
What is the name of the eosinophilic “division” between the primary oocyte and the granulosa cells of a primary follicle?
zona pellucida
What structures defines a secondary follicle?
antrum
What do granulosa cells secrete?
a myriad of growth factor and FSH (to stimulate themselves to convert androgens to estradiol by armomatase during the proliferative phase)
What cells produce the androgens that the granulosa cells convert to estrogen?
theca interna cells
After ovulation, what happens to granulosa cells?
they turn into granulosa lutein cells that produce progesterone
How would a granulosa cell tumor manifest clinically in a child?
precocious puberty
How would a granulosa cell tumor manifest clinically in an adult?
breast cancer (estrogen is growth promoting) and endometrial cancer
Would a granulosa cell tumor manifest differently after menopause?
don’t know??
What is the shape of the antrum in a Graafian Follicle?
horse-shoe shaped
What is the cumulous oophorus?
Granulosa cells still surround the oocyte “floating” in the antrum and form a “mound” that connects the oocyte to the rest of the granulosa cells
The granulosa cells adjacent to the oocyte extend processes toward and through the oocyte forming radiating lines that are referred to as what after ovulation?
corona radiata
Why is the corpus luteum yellow?
cholesterol
Why is the corpora albicantia white?
it is a scar due to follicular atresia of the CL
What happens to the CL if fertilization of the ovum occurs?
If fertilization does occur the CL will secrete steroid hormones until the placenta assumes this role later in pregnancy (around 10-12 weeks). Hormones of the trophoblast (hCG) will maintain CL until that point.
What happens to the CL if fertilization does NOT occur?
If fertilization does NOT occur, the CL will regress during the next 14 days and involutes and is replaced by a scar called the corpus albicans.
What does blood in the antrum signify?
recent ovulation (blood vessels of the ovarian wall leak into the antrum)