[Hypophysary and ovarian anatomopathological alterations in menopause]

A simultaneous hystopatological investigation of hypophysis and ovary in 80 women aged between 48 and 60 years was carried out. The obtained data pointed out that about menopause the hypophysis increases its activity and the ovaries present important pIenomena of sclerosis which could be determined by the hypersecretion of gonadotropic hormones. The decrease in sensitivity of the hormone-sensitive areas to the negative feed-back of estrogens would contribute to the setting up of the hypothalamic hypertonia on gonadotropic axis. The hypothesis is suggested, on one hand, by the fact that the degenerative ovarian insufficiency and the ovarian vascular alterations in menopause represent singular phenomena in the constellation of all the other endocrine glands and, on the other hand, by the fact that hypophysis, in menopause, increases its activity.