GONORRHOEA U.S.A. The fluorescent antibody (FA) method for the detection of gonorrhoea was first described by Deacon, Peacock, Freeman, and Harris (1959). The results of their studies were: a speciesspecific antigen associated with freshly isolated, inagglutinable gonococcal cultures was recognized; the antigen appeared to possess characteristics similar to Vi antigens of Salmonella typhi or th...

Of an unselected group of 159 women attending a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic 20% (32) had symptoms of urethritis. A positive correlation existed between the finding of more than 10 polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNL) per high-power field in the Gram-stained urethral smear and the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis. Conversely, these...

OBJECTIVE We studied the clinicopathological parameters of adenocarcinoma arising from endocervix (ECA) and from endometrium (EMA) based on the expression of P16ink4a, P21waf1, and p27Kip1 proteins. STUDY DESIGN Immunohistochemistry was done on sections of confirmed ECA and EMA from hysterectomy specimens which have had no prior chemotherapy/radiotherapy. RESULTS There were 40 ECAs and 92 E...

The use of non-culture gene amplification techniques has improved our understanding of the composition of the vaginal bacterial ecosystem. In most healthy women in the reproductive period the predominant vaginal bacteria are one or more of the following species of Lactobacillus: L. crispatus, L. iners and L. gasseri. However, in other apparently healthy women lactobacilli may be deficient or ab...

The use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has increased steadily. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of ART-related procedures such as hysterosalpingography (HSG), saline infusion sonography (SIS), hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, oocyte retrieval, and embryo transfer (ET). While performing these procedures, the abdomen, upper vagina, and endocervix are breached, leading ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the reliability of ligase chain reaction (LCR) to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detecting Chlamydia trachomatis endocervical infections. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of 486 patients at risk for chlamydial infection of the endocervix. We obtained two endocervical specimens from each patient and used LCR and PCR to detect C. trachomatis. Discrepant results ...

The diagnostic performance of a PCR test (Roche Cobas Amplicor CT/NG Test) and that of a ligase chain reaction (LCR) test (Abbott LCx Chlamydia trachomatis assay) were compared by using endocervical and urethral swab specimen culture as a reference test. First-void urine (FVU) and endocervical and urethral swab specimens were collected from 1,015 unselected patients attending a sexually transmi...

Background: Cervical discharge is considered a hydrogel, which part liquid and solid. Under physiological conditions, the characteristic “fern-leaf” arborization proportional to circulating estradiol concentration maximal in preovulatory phase. Crystallization of cervical secretion process dehydration with arrangement sodium potassium chloride crystals around main axis composed mucin. L-type (L...

The female reproductive tract has two main functions: protection against microbial challenge and maintenance of pregnancy to term. The upper reproductive tract comprises the fallopian tubes and the uterus, including the endocervix, and the lower tract consists of the ectocervix and the vagina. Immune cells residing in the reproductive tract play contradictory roles: they maintain immunity again...

Studies have shown that the transmission of HIV is most likely to occur via rectal or vaginal routes, and rarely through oral exposure. However, the mechanisms of virus entry at mucosal surfaces remain incompletely understood. Prophylactic strategies against HIV infection may be attainable once gaps in current knowledge are filled. To address these gaps, we evaluated essentially normal epitheli...