Ultrastructure of cell detachment from the human fetus in early pregnancy

The recently confirmed value of amniotic fluid cytology as a tool in the determination of fetal maturity constitutes the background of the present study, in which the exfoliative capacity of human fetal skin was investigated with correlate ultrastructural methods. By transmission and scanning electron microscopy, detachment mechanisms are elucidated in the fetal periderm. It is concluded that the exfoliative capacity prevailing in early pregnancy fetal skin is different from the maturity-related exfoliative capacity in the third trimester. Both kinds of exfoliated cell material constitute antenatally available fetal tissue, the utilisation of which in antenatal diagnosis may be extended.