[Examination of the uterine cervix using the scanning electron microscope]

Scanning by electron microscopy of the cervix of the uterus allows us to study the various aspects, both normal and pathological, as well as the architecture of sections of the organ. All the same, as in all practical examinations carried out using scanning we have to beware of pictures that are but artefacts due to the method of preparation. The views obtained from a normal cervix of from pathological cervices show very different aspects. In the normal cervix the surfaces are more or less smooth and the architecture of the deeper levels shows a thick and regular texture. Infectious lesions of the outer aspect of the cervix show punched-out patterns, like craters, which penetrate more or less deeply into the sub-epithelial plane. While cervical dysplasia shows little except perhaps a more or less bossed-up epithelial surface, cancer of the cervix on the other hand shows a pavement pattern which is irregular. The pavements are formed by buds which are separated by faults which are more or less deep. In section the structures show a degree of disorientation in the texture. After treatment with radium the appearance is rather like ground glass of spiders webs and the architecture of the structures seems to be pock-marked and chaotic.