[The development of coagulopathy in missed abortion (author's transl)]

A case of fetal death is demonstrated, where a primary hyperfibrinolysis induced a bleeding tendency after curettage. Writings on the subject give differing opinions on the pathogenesis of coagulopathy in the case of fetal demise (= dead fetus syndrome). It is shown that the coagulopathy is caused most frequently by a combination of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and subsequent hyperfibrinolysis. In sporadic cases, however, one of both pathogenetic mechanisms can occur isolated.