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Spontaneous Abortion and the Pathology of Early Pregnancy

  • Chapter
Fetal and Neonatal Pathology

Abstract

The purpose of a planned or desired pregnancy is the birth of a healthy infant. Terms such as “pregnancy wastage” and “suboptimal pregnancy outcome” have been introduced to cover a variety of events which lead to a failure of this process. The failure may result in fetal death or premature expulsion of the conceptus, leading to spontaneous abortion. Ectopic implantation may lead to fetal or maternal death. The gestation may be sufficiently abnormal to lead to trophoblastic neoplasia. Imperfect twinning may lead to death of one or both fetuses.

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  1. S. Knowles
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. John Radcliffe Maternity Hospital, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK

    Jean W. Keeling MB, BS, FRCPath (Consultant Paediatric Pathologist) (Consultant Paediatric Pathologist)

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© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Knowles, S. (1987). Spontaneous Abortion and the Pathology of Early Pregnancy. In: Keeling, J.W. (eds) Fetal and Neonatal Pathology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3523-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3523-4_3

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