Histological aspects of cervical ripening.

There is a close relationship between the rate of the uterine cervix opening during parturition and the presence or absence of a completely ripened cervix. In order to learn the basic pattern of the ripening of cervix, histological and histochemical studies were performed on the human uterine cervix during pregnancy. It was noted that the collagen bundles disintegrated into fine fibers and also underwent quantitative changes during the ripening process of the cervix. During pregnancy, the number of connective tissue cells was increased, but that of mast cells was decreased. Acid mucopolysaccharides in the cervical ground substance were found to increase in late pregnancy.