Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026
Ex Vivo Perfusion of the Rodent Placenta
Published on: May 30, 2019
Placenta structural changes in heavy smoking mothers: a stereological aspect
Zahra Heidari1,2, Hamidreza Mahmoudzadeh-Sagheb1,2, Nadia Sheibak2
1a Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center , Zahedan University of Medical Sciences , Zahedan , Iran.
Objective:
Smoking during pregnancy is able to alter the structure and function of the placenta. In the present study, quantitative changes of the placenta in smoking mothers were investigated compared to healthy controls by Cavalieri's point counting method.
Methods:
Twenty placentas from heavy smoking mothers and non-smoker controls (n = 10 in each group) were selected. Systematic uniform random sampling (SURS) was used for sample selection and tissue sectioning. Quantitative parameters of the placenta in the selected sections were estimated after Masson's trichrome staining. Differences between the two groups were determined by the Mann Whitney U test and the significance level was set at p < .05.
Results:
Results showed that there was a significant difference in the placental weight, total volume of placenta, intervillous space, fibrin and syncytiotrophoblast between the heavy smoker group and the control group (p < .05). The differences in the volume density of fibrin and blood vessels between the smoker and control groups were statistically significant (p < .05).
Conclusions:
Our findings suggested that quantitative parameters of the placenta significantly changed in placentas from the smoker group compared to controls. These changes can probably be associated with pregnancy complications in smoking mothers and may affect the development and survival of the fetus and even its future life.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Antibody Structure
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), are essential players of the adaptive immune system. These antigen-binding proteins are produced by B cells and make up 20 percent of the total blood plasma by weight. In mammals, antibodies fall into five different classes, which each elicits a different biological response upon antigen binding.
The Y-Shaped Structure of Antibodies Consists of Four Polypeptide Chains
Antibodies consist of four polypeptide chains: two identical heavy...
03:17Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
01:30Quantitative Aspects of Drug-Receptor Interaction
02:22Structures of Solids
02:34Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can...
03:38Structure of Lipids