uberon

cervix columnar epithelium

UBERON:0012250

The 'glandular' or columnar epithelium of the cervix is located cephalad to the squamocolumnar junction. It covers a variable amount of the ectocervix and lines the endocervical canal. It is comprised of a single layer of mucin-secreting cells. The epithelium is thrown into longitudinal folds and invaginations that make up the so-called endocervical glands (they are not true glands). These infolding crypts and channels make the cytologic and colposcopic detection of neoplasia less reliable and more problematic. The complex architecture of the endocervical glands gives the columnar epithelium a papillary appearance through the colposcope and a grainy appearance upon gross visual inspection. The single cell layer allows the coloration of the underlying vasculature to be seen more easily. Therefore, the columnar epithelium appears more red in comparison with the more opaque squamous epithelium.

• cervical squamo-columnar junction