[Structural deviations of the vagina epithelium from fetal up to prepubertal age (author's transl)]

A series of vaginal specimens from 327 autopsied female fetuses and girls up to the age of 13 years was studied. In one case the upper portion of the vagina was lined by an one-row mucus-free colomnar epithelium similar in appearance to that of the corpus endometrium.--In 21 girls, there were residual thelium.--An incomplete differentiation of the surface squamous epithelium was encountered in 7 girls.--Eight girls revealed dysontogenetic cysts in the deeper levels of the vaginal wall. When compared with similar lesions in adults, the typical columnar epithelium of the endocervical type, cysts with squamous lining, as well as adenocarcinoma were not encountered in the young age group examined. With the exception of cysts, the frequency of individual lesions in the vaginas of our series diminished with the increasing age towards puberty.