Concerning some morphofunctional aspects of the uterine cervical ripenening

Abstract

The onset of pregnancy is marked by profound morphological and functional changes occurring in the uterine cervix, the whole combination of which is described by the term cervical ripenening. The study of morphological and functional aspects of cervical maturation is both of theoretical and practical importance since many disorders of cervical maturation often lead to premature delivery or the birth of premature infants. The improvement of research methods enabled to study the process of cervical maturation at the molecular and cellular levels of organization. Our paper summarizes current data on the main morphological and functional changes that occur in the uterine cervix during maturation. In the course of the analysis of literature data, it became possible to identify three structural components that play a leading role in the maturation of the uterine cervix: epithelial, immuneinflammatory, connective tissue extracellular matrix component. Understanding the morphofunctional changes that occur in the uterine cervix during its maturation at different levels of organization of living organisms (molecular, cellular, tissue) is crucial for the development and improvement of treatment and prevention strategies.