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Pregnancy-Induced Uterine Vascular Remodelling and the Pathophysiology of Decidual Vasculopathy

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Pathology of the Placenta

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Abstract

Maternal vasculopathy encompasses several related lesions, including incomplete physiologic remodelling, fibrinoid necrosis, and atherosis, that occur within the maternal blood vessels feeding the placenta. These lesions are thought to develop early in gestation, but their effects do not generally arise until the latter half of pregnancy. The alterations in the maternal vasculature change both the volume and flow characteristics of the blood entering the placenta, resulting in hypoxic/oxidative damage. Maternal vasculopathy is associated most closely with the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy but can also be found in several other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Terry K. Morgan

  2. Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    W. Tony Parks

Authors
  1. Terry K. Morgan
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  2. W. Tony Parks
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Correspondence to W. Tony Parks .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomical Pathology, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, SA, Australia

    T. Yee Khong

  2. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Eoghan E. Mooney

  3. Department of Pathology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Peter G. J. Nikkels

  4. Department of Pathology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Terry K. Morgan

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Sanne J. Gordijn

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Morgan, T.K., Parks, W.T. (2019). Pregnancy-Induced Uterine Vascular Remodelling and the Pathophysiology of Decidual Vasculopathy. In: Khong, T., Mooney, E., Nikkels, P., Morgan, T., Gordijn, S. (eds) Pathology of the Placenta. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97214-5_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97214-5_32

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97213-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97214-5

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