| • This medium power photograph exhibits several superficial squamous cells with abundant eosinophilic or cyanophilic cytoplasm.
• The smaller cells with darkly blue green cytoplasm are metaplastic squamous cells.
• The nuclei are dark and round in part because they are viewed through the deeply stained cytoplasm.
• The cells may be round or polygonal with elongated processes.
• Scattered neutrophils are seen in the background. |
| Squamous Metaplasia of Cervix |
| Etiology |
• Associated with irritation, inflammation, low vaginal pH |
| Pathogenesis |
• Appropriate stimulus triggers squamous rather than glandular differentation from the basal cells. |
| Epidemiology |
• Normal finding in the reproductive age woman |
| Clinical |
• Not applicable. |
| General Gross Description |
• Tan gray surface similar to mature squamous epithelium. |
| General Micro Description |
• Seen in the transformation zone bound by a proximal margin of current squamocolumnar junction and
distal margin of the original squamocolumnar junction • Epithelium in between derived from squamous metaplasia.
• Mature metaplastic epithelium is indistinguishable from non-metaplastic stratified squamous epithelium, a look at the
submucosa will show underlying endocervical clefts.
• Begins as a proliferation of the subcolumnar reserve cells • The nuclei are large with prominent nucleoli and basal mitoses. • Initially little maturation of the squamous epithelium is seen but this changes
over time into the typical stratified non-keratinizing pattern as the cytoplasm in these cells develops. |
| Reference |
• Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. 1034-5
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