Library · Anatomy
Endometrium
Make it clearer
The endometrium is the lining inside the uterine cavity. It contains surface cells, glands, blood vessels, and supporting tissue called stroma. Picture a wall with a finish that is renewed seasonally: the surface portion is the functional layer, which changes during the cycle.
That layer is shed during menstruation. Beneath it, the basal layer remains as the foundation for rebuilding the lining. The outer muscle of the uterus is the myometrium, a different structure.
In brief
The endometrium is the mucous membrane lining the cavity of the uterine body. It contains surface epithelium, glands, supporting stroma, and blood vessels, and it changes cyclically in response to ovarian hormones.
It has a superficial functional layer, which changes and is shed during menstruation, and a deeper basal layer, which remains. The endometrium is not the entire uterus; outside it lies the myometrium, the uterus's muscular layer.
Sources (3)
- U.S. National Library of MedicineHistology of the human endometrium: from birth to senescence
- National Center for Biotechnology InformationUterine stem cells
- National Center for Biotechnology InformationPhysiology, Uterus
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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