Preterm membranes are mechanically more resistant than term membranes.
Prenat Diagn
; 44(3): 317-324, 2024 Mar.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38168862
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To compare the biomechanical properties of fetal preterm membranes (20 + 0 weeks to 30 + 0 weeks) to those of the term (37 + 0 to 41 + 0 weeks).METHOD:
Amnion and chorion were manually separated and samples were cut to the required geometry. Rectangular samples with (mode 1) and without (uniaxial) a notch, were tested for tearing energy, critical elongation, and tangent stiffness. Suture retention and inter-suture distance testing investigated the effect of suture placement.RESULTS:
From the 15 preterm and 10 term placentas studied, no notable differences were observed in uniaxial testing. Mode 1 fracture testing showed a difference in tearing energy between the preterm and term chorion (0.025 ± 0.005 vs. 0.017 ± 0.005 J/m-1 ; p = 0.027) but not in the amnion (0.030 ± 0.017 vs. 0.029 ± 0.009 J/m-1 ; p = 0.895). Both preterm amnion and chorion showed a higher critical elongation compared with term (1.229 ± 0.057 vs. 1.166 ± 0.046; p = 0.019 and 1.307 ± 0.049 vs. 1.218 ± 0.058; p = 0.012). Preterm amnion had a higher suture retention strength than its term counterpart (0.189 ± 0.065 vs. 0.121 ± 0.031 N; p = 0.023). In inter-suture distance tests, no significant interaction was observed beyond 3 mm, but the preterm chorion showed less interaction at 1-2 mm distances.CONCLUSION:
Preterm membranes have equivalent or superior tensile properties to term membranes. The chorion appears to contribute to the mechanical integrity of fetal membranes, particularly in preterm stages.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Extraembryonic Membranes
/
Amnion
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Newborn
/
Pregnancy
Language:
En
Journal:
Prenat Diagn
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bélgica