THE ENDOMETRIAL CAPILLARIES DURING THE NORMAL MENSTRUAL-CYCLE - A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY

The areas of the capillary lumen, the entire capillary, the endothelial cells and the adventitia, as well as the thickness of the endothelial cell layer and the adventitia were studied using morphometric methods in endometrial samples from 34 fertile women who had a hormonal profile compatible with normal ovarian function. The biopsies were grouped around the luteinizing hormone surge. The results were calculated as mean values of 72-h periods and related to the mean levels of oestradiol and progesterone circulating in plasma 72 h prior to the biopsy. The results indicated that the sub-epithelial capillary plexus of the human endometrium undergoes dynamic changes during the normal menstrual cycle with a significant dilatation of the vessels during the post-ovulatory phase. A significant correlation was found between the area of the capillary lumen and the mean level of progesterone circulating in the plasma 72 h prior to the biopsy (P = 0.037). We conclude that the ovarian steroids produced during the normal menstrual cycle are likely to influence sub-epithelial vascularization causing dilatation in the post-ovulatory phase. This dilatation of the sub-epithelial capillaries may be related to the development of oedema appearing in the stroma at the time of the expected implantation. The possible functional significance of the capillary dilatation in terms of implantation, however, needs to be further investigated.