Pathological Examination of the Late Embryonic Heart Using the Same 4-chamber and 3-vessel Planes Used in Fetal Echocardiography.
In Vivo
; 35(1): 533-539, 2021.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33402506
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIM:
The incidence of early pregnancy loss widely varies according to age, being considerably higher in older women. Severe congenital malformations play an important role in pregnancy loss, having a high risk of recurrence. Congenital heart defects are the most common congenital abnormalities, thus the diagnosis of such malformations in aborted embryos is important for establishing both a possible cause for pregnancy loss and for correctly counseling the parents. Pathologic examination of the heart that is only a few millimeters in size, is very challenging. PATIENTS ANDMETHODS:
A pathologic examination protocol using transverse microscopic sections at the level of the 4-chamber and 3-vessel planes is proposed for heart evaluation.RESULTS:
Two 9-10 gestational weeks embryos were microscopically examined using transverse slides of the thorax. The 4-chamber and 3-vessel slides were analyzed and compared to 11-13 weeks ultrasound images of the 4-chamber and 3-vessel views from 10 cases. The pathologic examination provided a detailed view of the ventricles, atria and great vessels, sometime surpassing even the ultrasound examination that was performed at a later gestational age.CONCLUSION:
We consider our proposed pathologic examination protocol feasible for evaluating normal heart structures and ruling out severe congenital heart disease.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Coração Fetal
/
Cardiopatias Congênitas
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article