Perinatal placental pathology

Examination of the placenta may be viewed as a diary of the pregnancy. Apart from its immediate diagnostic value, it can also broadly serve two purposes: 1) it provides a method of auditing antenatal clinical judgment by clinicopathologic correlation, and 2) it makes an important contribution in the context of unsolved clinical problems. The placenta's strategic location at the fetomaternal interphase mirrors disorders of both mother and fetus; however, "merged images" still cause some confusion, eg, villitis. This review summarizes recent areas of clinicopathologic correlation that have enhanced our understanding of placental function and the fetoplacental unit.