Reproductive organs in anencephaly with special reference to the uterus.

A survey has been made of the reproductive organs of anencephalic fetuses with special reference to the uterus and the vagina. The uteri and the vaginae of 15 anencephalic fetuses were examined and compared with 29 controls. The uterus showed normal development and reacted normally to hormonal stimulation by showing vascular, stromal and glandular proliferation and glandular diastase-resistant mucin secretion in varying degrees. All these processes were fully developed during the last month of pregnancy, offering the same picture as the controls. Cervix and vagina showed good maturation of squamous epithelium with already a fair amount of diastase-resistant mucin at 27 weeks of gestation, increasing steadily towards full term. A review of 32 postmortem records from various hospitals did not reveal any external developmental abnormalities of the uterus and its appendages in the anencephalic fetus with the exception of 2 cases. These findings are in marked contrast to the gross developmental abnormalities observed in the reproductive organs of male anencephalic fetuses.