The Natural History of Uterine Leiomyomas: Light and Electron Microscopic Studies of Fibroid Phases, Interstitial Ischemia, Inanosis, and Reclamation

Figure 20

Life cycle of the fibroid myocyte. In this graphic representation, we have attempted to summarize our impression of the fibroid myocyte life cycle, from (I) phenotypic transformation to a proliferating, synthesizing cell, to (II) inanotic injury, atrophy, and ultimately cell death resulting from interstitial and vascular ischemia, to (III) reclamation in which dead cells and cell contents are resorbed by enzymatic degradation without the involvement of phagocytic cells. Illustration by David Sabio, Experimental Pathology Laboratories.