The placenta revealed.
Year: 1993
Type: letter
Abstract: While the emergence of the diagnostic biopsy in the 1940s has helped to elucidate the pathophysiology of most organs, our understanding of the placenta has, until recently, lagged behind. With little opportunity for serial biopsies, the placenta is most often examined only at the end of a gestation, hampering our understanding of the dynamic, progressive nature of diseases of pregnancy involving the placenta. Now, a more basic understanding of trophoblast biology and the application of molecular biological tools to this clinical material are beginning to advance the level of knowledge for placental pathologists. Where once we could only speculate about the pathological processes taking place during gestation, we are beginning to fit the pieces together into a more global understanding of the dynamic relationships between the mother and placenta during pregnancy. Three areas of research are converging on the placenta: basic trophoblast biology, the reproductive immunology of the uteroplacental unit, and infectious agent identification. As the tools in each of these areas have advanced, their application to problems in placental pathology has helped to sort out the causes and effects of a number of important diseases of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation, and infection.
Source: PubMed
Author: H J Kliman
Institution: Yale University
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W310048455