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Vagina - Ulcer

Image of ulcer in the vagina from a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat in a chronic study
Vagina - Ulcer in a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat from a chronic study. There is a focal area of ulceration of the vagina epithelium.
Figure 1 of 2
Image of ulcer in the vagina from a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat in a chronic study
Vagina - Ulcer in a female Harlan Sprague-Dawley rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). There is loss of epithelium in a focal area of the vagina.
Figure 2 of 2
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comment:

An ulcer of the vagina is a focal loss of the epithelium with a breach of the underlying basement membrane ( Figure 1image opens in a pop-up window and Figure 2image opens in a pop-up window ). There is typically an associated inflammatory cell reaction. It is most commonly seen as a consequence of local, intravaginal administration of materials such as pessaries and xenobiotics.

recommendation:

Vagina - Ulcer should be diagnosed and graded. The associated inflammation should not be diagnosed separately unless warranted by severity but should be described in the pathology narrative.

references:

Dixon D, Alison R, Bach U, Colman K, Foley GL, Harleman JH, Hawarth R, Herbert R, Heuser A, Long G, Mirsky M, Regan K, Van Esch E, Westwood FR, Vidal J, Yoshida M. 2014. Nonproliferative and proliferative lesions of the rat and mouse female reproductive system (INHAND). J Toxicol Pathol 27(suppl):1S-107S.
Full Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253081/

Greaves P. 2012. Female genital tract. In: Histopathology of Preclinical Toxicity Studies: Interpretation and Relevance in Drug Safety Evaluations, 4th ed. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 667-724.

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Web page last updated on: November 23, 2015