What is cervical cancer?
– The cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (womb)
– The cervix leads from the uterus to the vagina (birth canal)
The cervix is a passageway
-Cervix is part of a woman's reproductive system
-Cervix connects the uterus to the vagina
-During a menstrual period, blood flows from the uterus through the cervix into the vagina.
The cervix is a passageway
-The cervix makes mucus. During sex, mucus helps sperm move from the vagina through the cervix into the uterus.
-During pregnancy, the cervix is tightly closed to help keep the baby inside the uterus.
-During childbirth, the cervix opens to allow the baby to pass through the vagina.
-The part of the cervix closest to the body of the uterus is called the endocervix.
-The part next to the vagina is the exocervix (or ectocervix
-The 2 main types of cells covering the cervix are squamous cells (on the exocervix) and glandular cells (on the endocervix).
-The place where these 2 cell types meet is called the transformation zone. Most cervical cancers start in the transformation zone.
-Cervical cancer happens when normal cells in the cervix change into abnormal cells, and grow out of control
-Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time.
-Before cancer appears in the cervix, the cells of the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which cells that are not normal begin to appear in the cervical tissue.
-Later, cancer cells start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.
-Cervical cancers are classified by how they look under a microscope.
-There are 2 main types of cervical cancers:
. Squamous cell carcinoma
. Adenocarcinoma
-About 80–90% of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas.
-These cancers are from the squamous cells that cover the surface of the exocervix.
-Squamous cell carcinomas most often begin where the exocervix joins the endocervix.
-Cervical adenocarcinomas seem to have becoming more common in the past 20 to 30 years.
-Cervical adenocarcinoma develops from the mucus-producing gland cells of the endocervix.
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