Differential clinical and morphological approach to the study of placental calcification

Objective: to detect possible causes of calcification of the placenta, identify patterns between excessive deposition of fibrinoid, calcium salts and various disorders in the mother-placenta-fetus system. Materials and methods. 6,089 afterbirths and placental tissue sections were examined, of which 193 specimens complying with the purpose of the study were further studied and divided into three groups (group of biological norm; afterbirths in which there is fibrinoid deposition without accompanying calcification; afterbirths with pronounced deposits of calcium salts). Each section of placental tissue was studied macro- and microscopically according to the method of A.P. Milovanov and A.I. Brusilovsky to reveal structural and functional changes. Statistical processing of the results was performed using methods of descriptive statistics, nonparametric methods: compilation of contingency tables, calculation of Pearson's χ2 test with Yates correction. Results. It was found that all the afterbirths studied had similar macroscopic characteristics. Microscopic examination revealed that calcification contributes to a more pronounced separation of the lobules of the maternal part of the placenta. Various inflammatory, alterative processes, as well as hemodynamic disorders in the placental tissue contribute to the deposition of calcium salts. Conclusion. The involutive processes observed in normal aging of the placenta become most pronounced in various pathological processes in the mother-fetus-placenta system. The study revealed a statistically significant relationship between the number of labor and the appearance of calcifications in the placental tissue. Large focal deposits of calcium salts were more often observed in women who gave birth not for the first time.

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