[Genital hematoma--local obstetrical trauma or pregnancy disorder?]

The general haematoma is a disease which appears during labour and affects the vulvar, vaginal or the parametrial tissues. The study of this affection implies the discussions of some special aspects, as the distinction between this disease and the traumatic complications of the labour; the observation that the genital haematoma is frequently associated with proteinuria and primiparity which leads to the possible inclusion of this disease among pregnancy toxaemias; the clinical importance of this affection, the severe forms prejudicing the mother's life. In the genital haematoma pathogenesis it is important to notice that this disease is the consequence of a vascular rupture, most frequently affecting the small vessels or the capillaries, and it is favoured by the increased vascular flow during gravidity and by the tissues' slip on the gravidic inhibition background. After mentioning the predisposing factors, details about the pathological anatomy are given and a new classification is proposed, mostly based on clinical and less on anatomical features. The clinical symptoms and the treatment are presented on a large scale, discussing the latest informations in the specialty literature.