A practical guide to placental examination for forensic pathologists

Date

2020

Authors

Mittal, Namita
Byard, Roger W.
Dahlstrom, Jane

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Abstract

The placenta is a complex interface organ that may hold clues to the reasons for fetal, neonatal or maternal demise. For this reason, placental examination should be a mandatory part of all perinatal or maternal autopsies. While published protocols for the examination of the placenta exist, they are often not adopted. The following review provides practical guidelines for placental examination, with discussion of specific medical conditions that can negatively impact upon the fetus, neonate or mother involving placental pathology to cause death. The review aims to discuss concepts, with illustrations, that forensic pathologists may not routinely focus on in death investigations that may either contribute or mask the cause of a fetal or neonatal death, or are associated with a recurrence risk. While it is recognized that many forensic facilities do not have formal guidelines for placental examination, involvement of local perinatal pathology services in cases is one way of obtaining additional specialist expertise.

Description

Keywords

Placenta, Neonate, Maternal, Fetal, Forensic, Sudden death, Stillbirth

Citation

Source

Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology

Type

Journal article

Book Title

Entity type

Access Statement

License Rights

Restricted until

2099-12-31