Pathology of abortion: chromosomal and genetic correlations

The examination of spontaneous abortion specimens is as important as doing perinatal autopsies or surgicals in today's practice of medicine. The results of the pathologist's examination assist obstetricians in specific follow-up of future pregnancies and geneticists in predicting the chances of specific developmental defects or repeat pregnancy loss. Without the information provided by the pathologist, the other specialists can offer no real assistance. More extensive use of cytogenetic analysis of placentas may help explain intrauterine fetal death in pregnancies with confined placental mosaicism, which complicates one to two percent of pregnancies. A brief review of morphologic and genetic differences between partial and complete moles emphasizes the disparate origins of these distantly related conditions.