| Abstract: | As a result of our own investigations on the biomorphosis of the human uterine tube it is permitted to establish that the connective tissue of the lamina propria mucosae consists of 2 stainable and histochemical different types of fibers showing age-dependent changes in distribution, arrangement and localization. On the one side it is possible to detect aldehyde fuchsin positive fibrous structures (preliminary investigations and demonstration of ones were published in SCHULTKA 1980]). These fibers can be regarded as sulphur containing scleroproteins relating to the histochemical findings. The aldehyde fuchsin positive mucosal fibrous formations arising from mesenchymal tissue during the embryonal-fetal period extend into the tubal muscular system and form a subepithelial membrane-like fibrous network. In neonatal uterine tubes the fibers spread over the mucosa as a multidimensional network, and they have a intimate contact with the epithelium. Reaching the period of the fertile age the mucosal folds contain a fine branching network. Contrary to this finding, in organs of being aged women considerable thickened fibrous structures are mainly localized near the epithelium. On the other side picrofuchsin-positive connective tissue fibers, whose tinction is visibly reduced after collagenase-digestion, are localized in the tubal mucosa. Although the increase of a coarse-fibrous picrofuchsin-stainable connective tissue can be observed in the tubal folds during the 2nd half of the 4th decade of life, these morphological changes are characteristic of organs in the postmenopausis and in the senium. Finally, 2 different reacting parts of connective tissue are formed, firstly, a aldehyde fuchsin positive connective tissue localizing near the basis of the epithelium, and, secondly, a strongly picrofuchsin-positive connective tissue filling the folds, especially perivascularly. It is discussed whether, with respect to the fibrous structures selectively detected in the human mucosa, it could be the question of distinct types of collagen fibers, in which both types would represent the morphological substratum of the type III-collagen (aldehyde fuchsin positive pepsin- and papain-sensitive disulfide bonds-containing fibers) and of the type I-collagen (picrofuchsin--positive fibers), respectively. Besides, functional importance of the aldehyde fuchsin positive fibers is discussed. |
