Аннотация:Summary The question of the origin of regenerating epithelial cells in the process of metaplasia in the human female genital tract was investigated by setting up a model system in the rat. The uterine lining was injured by the injection of trichloroacetic acid into the uterus following laparotomy. At different intervals the resulting repair process was monitored by histological and autoradiographic study. To test a previous hypothesis that the progenitor cell of the regenerate epithelium was a migratory monocytic cell, autogenous peritoneal cells were removed from the rat peritoneal cavity and labelled in vitro with sodium 51 chromate. They were then replaced and their subsequent fate followed by autoradiographic procedures. Within 5 hours labelled monocyte peritoneal cells were found migrating through the necrosed layers of the uterine lining. By day 5, similarly labelled cells were found as components of the new epithelium. The epithelial type when differentiated could be varied experimentally toward a stratified (keratin‐producing) or simple (mucin‐pro‐ducing) type depending on the prevailing pH in the uterine lumen.
