[Dependence of morphologic changes in portio, cervix and endometrium on dosage or potency of synthetic gestagens]

Four different gestagens were compared with each other in respect of their morphological effects on portio, cervical mucosa and endometrium, using 632 surgical preparations. The four groups of woman patients formed in this manner had the same structure and were examined under the same observation conditions in respect of all important parameters. Small alveolar glandular structures and precanceroses of the cervical mucosa originating from reserve cell hyperplasia were seen significantly more often at the portio under high dosages of norgestrel than under high lynestrenol dosages. Hence, norgestrel exercises a proliferative and metaplastic stimulus on the cylindrical epithelium of the cervical glandular field, in contrast to lynestrenol. High norgestrel dosages caused atrophies of the corpus endometrium significantly more often than low norgestrel dosages, desogestrel or lynestrenol at low dosage levels. On the other hand, low norgestrel dosages were more often responsible for low-level and delayed secretions, whereas pronounced oestrogen-involving proliferations were more frequent under lynestrenol, and rigid secretions occurred with above-average frequency under desogestrel. The results allow us to conclude that morphological effects of synthetic gestagens partly occur in strict correlation to the dosage. There are, however, also dose-independent type-specific changes. In the determination of the gestagenic potency of apreparation, its morphological effects on portio, cervix and endometrium are a reliable additional parameter.