[Prenatal diagnosis of hereditary diseases using chorionic villi]

The paper is based on the first results of a preliminary study of the cytogenetic analysis of chorionic villi samples. Chorionic villi were obtained from 31 women undergoing artificial abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The tissue was used for direct chromosome preparations and sex-chromatin examinations (X and Y body). The results suggest the possibility of a simple and quick prenatal determination of fetal sex in the first trimester and the provision of a sufficient number of mitosis with well-spread chromosomes. This new method may become the method of choice in prenatal diagnosis after being thoroughly examined and verified.