Electron Microscopy of the Uterine Epithelium in the Rabbit

The ultrastructure of the uterine epithelium has been studied in estrous, ovariectomized, pregnant, and pseudopregnant rabbits. Tissue for light microscopy was fixed in Bouin's solution and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, by the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) method, and with methylene blue. Tissue for electron microscopy was fixed in 1 per cent osmium tetroxide in White's saline and embedded in Araldite. The uterine epithelium in estrus is comprised of ciliated and non-ciliated cells. After ovariectomy the epithelium becomes reduced in height and PAS-positive material disappears. Multinucleated cells are formed in the epithelium in pregnancy, pseudopregnancy, and in the non-pregnant horn in unilateral pregnancy. They degenerate during the 3rd week of pseudopregnancy and during the 4th week of pregnancy in the non-pregnant horn. The formation of multinucleated cells is believed to be under hormonal control. The uterine epithelium in contact with the blastocyst changes into a "symplasma," presumably under the influence of a local (chemical?) effect produced by the blastocyst. This change is not seen in pseudopregnancy nor in the non-pregnant horn in unilateral pregnancy. A complex infolding of the basal cell membrane of the epithelium accompanies the "symplasmic" change. The remaining uterine epithelium in pregnancy shows a well developed ergastoplasm suggesting a production of secretion materials, some of which may be available for absorption by the fetus through the yolk sac or paraplacental chorion.