[Ultrastructural cytology of some uterine effects of chronic steroid overload: problem of fertilization]

Published literature on the uterine effects of steroid loads and the ir relationship to fertility is reviewed. The hormonal doses incorporated in oral contraceptives are very comparable to those known for the past 35 years to induce menstruation in ovariectomized women; steroid overload is thus chronic among women using contraceptive steroids. Reticular changes in the chorion are commonly observed in young women treated with combinations of estrogens and nor-steroids and after prolonged oral contraception atrophy of the uterine mucosa and some sclerosis of the chorion are frequently seen. Study of the ultrast ructural cytophysiology of tubal sperm transit and tubal biochemistry may point the way to a method of contraception which will avoid the steroid overload and its central nervous system repercussions.