CELL TYPES IN THE RAT ENDOMETRIUM: AN ONTOGENETIC ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDY

Abstract

Fifty female Wistar rats were used to study the endometrial cell types by ТЕМ. Ultrastructural features of the main resident (fibroblasts, epithelial cells) and transient cells (granulocytes, macrophages, plasma cells and lymphocytes) were established during the following periods: (i) prepuberty, (ii) sexual maturity, and (Hi) in aged rats. The morphological changes in the cell types are discussed with a view to clarify the endometrial tissue reorganization during ontogenesis and especially in the estrus cycle. Our results suggest that main factors affecting the cells during the phases of the estrus cycle are the ovarian steroids, actively influencing upon them in comparison with other periods