Cytologic phenomena accompanying uterine cervix electrocoagulation.
In the study of cellular and tissue response to electrocoagulation of the uterine cervix, two cytologic phenomena accompanying the delayed healing process were described: the "contact-developed lucid cell" and the "regression field," which were limited to smear samples exhibiting the transitory appearance of abnormal cells after electrocoagulation. While "contact-developed lucid cells," which were firmly attached to abnormal target cell nuclei in a "cell-in-a-cell" pattern, had a variable effect upon subsequent smear scores, the "regression field," which is similar to that described by others during immunologic rejection of kidney transplants, was consistently followed by a shift of the smear score from the dysplasia range to the normal range. We suggest that abnormal cells differentiated during the healing process as well as those present both before and after treatment are subject to an immune rejection induced by uterine cervical electrocoagulation.