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Placental Histopathology

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Congenital and Perinatal Infections

Part of the book series: Infectious Disease ((ID))

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Abstract

Excellent in-depth discussions of placental pathology in intrauterine infections are found in current placental pathology texts (1–3). The integrity of the fetal-placentalmaternal unit is key to the prevention of intrauterine infection. Infectious agents must traverse placental barriers to reach the fetus. In most instances, intrauterine infection leaves “footprints” in the placenta, either as direct evidence of infection (organisms) or indirect evidence of infection (inflammation or tissue injury). The placenta acts as a successful barrier to fetal infection. In most cases, despite placental infection, the fetus remains uninfected, although not necessarily unaffected by the infection. Other factors that affect the severity of intrauterine infection include the pathogen load, the virulence of the organism, immunocompetence of both mother and fetus, and gestational age at time of infection.

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  1. Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX

    Edwina J. Popek DO

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  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

    Cecelia Hutto MD

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Popek, E.J. (2006). Placental Histopathology. In: Hutto, C. (eds) Congenital and Perinatal Infections. Infectious Disease. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-965-6:037

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-965-6:037

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