Cervix uteri (100X)

Here you see more closely the kinds of epithelium that line the endocervix and the exocervix. You see a part with columnar epithelium (endocervix). The epithelial cells of the endocervix are columnar with the typical appearance of mucus-producing cells.  A few cells may be ciliated. The other part, where the epithelium is stratified squamous epithelium is the exocervix. This transitional zone occurs sometimes outside the opening of the cervical canal, and because the cylindrical epithelium is much thinner than the stratified squamous epithelium, it it looks red. Such a red area on the portio is therefore sometimes mistakenly taken to represent erosion.