Radionuclide and angiographic studies of placental circulation in man and rhesus monkey

Imaging maternal and fetal circulation during perfusion of isolated human placental lobules was performed. Radionuclide and contrast angiograms, specimen scans, and histologic preparations obtained on human material during in vitro investigations were compared to the results obtained in vivo on pregnant rhesus monkeys. The distribution of maternal blood flow within the placenta appeared similar in both human and rhesus studies. The 'spurts' of radiopaque medium shown on the contrast angiograms correlated with the appearance of areas of increased radioactivity. These 'hot spots' are located where the uteroplacental spiral arteries open into the intervillous space or where the perfusion cannulae irrigate the maternal side of the placenta. Time-radioactivity curves reached an early peak and remained the same as did their distribution on delayed scans. The 15 to 30 micron microspheres injected into the intervillous spaces are not removed onto the venous side by maternal flow through arteriovenous communications (or 'shunts') but are retained in localized areas of the intervillous space adjacent to the spiral arteries. Many of these microspheres adhere to the 'brush border' of the chorionic villi syncytiotrophoblast. These comparative studies confirm that rhesus monkeys and perfused human placental lobules are relevant models to investigate uteroplacental hemodynamics.