Morphometric analysis of the endometrium of infertile patients in relation to peripheral hormone levels

Abstract

In an attempt to identify factors that may be responsible for reproductive failure, we compared endometrial biopsies taken from infertile patients during the luteal phase of spontaneous cycles (n = 18) with those taken after ovarian stimulation (n = 18). Morphometric analyses were performed and compared with peripheral estradiol (E 2 ) and progesterone levels at the time of supposed implantation. In stimulated cycles the number of glands per square millimeter was positively correlated to the E 2 level. The morphometric data point to a measurable difference between the study groups, indicating an insufficient secretory transformation of the tissue in infertile women when compared with a group of fertile women. The observations suggest that hormonal stimulation occasionally results in impaired development of the endometrial glands.