Editing Cervix (section)

=== Development ===
As a component of the female [[Human reproductive system|reproductive system]], the cervix is derived from the two [[paramesonephric duct]]s (also called Müllerian ducts), which develop around the sixth week of [[human embryogenesis|embryogenesis]]. During development, the outer parts of the two ducts fuse, forming a single [[urogenital]] canal that will become the [[vagina]], cervix and [[uterus]].<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Schoenwolf GC, Bleyl SB, Brauer PR, Francis-West PH |title=Larsen's human embryology|year=2009|publisher=Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier|location=Philadelphia, PA |isbn=978-0-443-06811-9|chapter="Development of the Urogenital system"|edition=4th}}</ref> The cervix grows in size at a smaller rate than the body of the uterus, so the relative size of the cervix over time decreases, decreasing from being much larger than the body of the uterus in [[fetus|fetal life]], twice as large during childhood, and decreasing to its adult size, smaller than the uterus, after puberty.<ref name=ELLIS2011 /> Previously, it was thought that during fetal development, the original squamous epithelium of the cervix is derived from the [[urogenital sinus]], and the original columnar epithelium is derived from the paramesonephric duct. The point at which these two original epithelia meet is called the original squamocolumnar junction.<ref name=Cervix2006>{{cite book|title=The Cervix | veditors = Jordan J, Singer A, Jones H, Shafi M |chapter=Morphogenesis and Differentiation of the cervicovaginal epithelium | vauthors = McLean JM |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gbp2uRBLE9cC |isbn=978-1-4051-3137-7 |date=November 2006 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|edition=2nd }}</ref>{{rp|15–16}} New studies show, however, that all the cervical as well as large part of the [[vaginal epithelium]] are derived from Müllerian duct tissue and that phenotypic differences might be due to other causes.<ref name=Reich2014>{{cite journal | vauthors = Reich O, Fritsch H | title = The developmental origin of cervical and vaginal epithelium and their clinical consequences: a systematic review | journal = Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease | volume = 18 | issue = 4 | pages = 358–360 | date = October 2014 | pmid = 24977630 | doi = 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000023 | s2cid = 3060493 }}</ref>