During pregnancy there ~s increased vascularity and oedema of the lower genital tract. The cervix shows hyperplasia of its glands and microscopically there is prominence of the basal cells near the squamocolumnar junction ( Pritchard and MacDonald, 1976 ).
In a colposcopic study made by Kiguchi and Suda ( 1984) it was found that the developmentof metaplastic squamous epithelium is more likely to occur in the 3rd trimester with a difference in its development between primigravidae and multigravidae.
During pregnancy the cervix becomes everted especially in the primigravida exposing the
transformation zone where premalignancy and malignancy
develop
and
the
endocervical
limit
of
this
zone
can
be
examined
colposcopically
in
almost
all
patients
(
Duncan
1981) •
As
the
m a j 0 r i t Y
0 f
the
pati e n t s
wi th
precancerous
lesions
of
the
cervix
now
fall
into
the
childbearing
age
group
pregnancy
provides
a
suitable occasion to examine them ( McDonnell et a1. 1981). Shingleton and Orr ( 1983 ) ,. emphasized that the routine use of cytological and colposcopical screening during antenatal care has been responsible for increasing the number of patients with early stages
of
cervical neoplasia. |
