Cervical erosion classification according to the depth of erosion surface

Cervical erosion is not a disease, but a manifestation of chronic cervicitis. At present, the term "cervical erosion" has been abandoned in the West and renamed as cervical columnar epithelial ectopia, which is considered not a pathological change. For many years, my country has divided cervical erosion into pathological inflammatory erosion and pseudo-erosion (due to the increase of estrogen levels in adolescent and pregnant women, the cervical columnar epithelium proliferates and moves outward, and the external cervical opening can be seen to be red). According to the depth of erosion, it is divided into 3 types: simple type, granular type and papillary type. The relevant manifestations of each type are as follows:

1. Simple type

Generally in the early stage of inflammation, the eroded surface of the cervix is ​​flat and covered with only a single layer of columnar epithelium, which is called simple cervical erosion.

2. Granular type

If inflammation persists, the cervical epithelium will overproliferate, and the erosion surface will be uneven and granular in appearance. This is called granular cervical erosion, which is mainly caused by hyperplasia of the cervical glandular epithelium and stroma.

3. Nipple type

The glandular epithelium and stroma proliferate significantly, and the unevenness becomes more obvious, forming a papillary shape, which is called papillary cervical erosion.

It should be noted that the above three types of cervical erosion can exist alone or coexist. At the same time, according to the area of ​​erosion, it can be divided into three categories: I (mild), II (moderate), and III (severe). The two classification methods do not conflict and can exist at the same time.