Cervix is the neck of uterus which opens into the vagina. It is also
known as uterine cervix. The cervix’s part closest to the body is called
endocervix whereas the part next to vagina is called exocervix (ectocervix).
There are two main types of cells covering the cervix which are squamous cells
on the exocervix and glandular cells on the endocervix. A place where these two
types of cells meet is known as the transformation zone whereby most cervical
cancers start in this zone. Cervical cancer begins in the cell lining of
cervix. These cells do not convert into cancerous cells out of sudden. Instead,
the normal cells of the cervix gradually develop precancerous changes that turn
into cancer. There are several terms used by doctors to describe these
precancerous changes, including cervical intraepithelial
neoplasia (CIN), squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL),
and dysplasia. These changes can be detected by the PAP test and be
treated to prevent cancer from developing.
