ABSTRACT
Innumerable techniques have been used to study female reproductive physiology and these basically should all be useful in a comparative study of reproductive processes in old and young subjects. This chapter reviews the published information on age-related changes of the structure and function of the female reproductive axis. The atrophy of the reproductive tract is due mainly to loss of ovarian hormones. Gross and microscopic evaluations of the postmenopausal vagina have shown a decreased depth and caliber with age, together with decreased elasticity and expansive ability. Gross inspection of the postmenopausal cervix reveals a decrease in size, a reduction in width of the cervical canal, and a reduction in quantity, but thickening of cervical mucus. A decreased uterine alkaline phosphatase activity in the mouse and a decreased uterine phosphofructokinase and phosphohexose isomerase in the rat have been demonstrated with advancing age.
