A practical guide to placental examination for forensic pathologists

Namita Mittal, Roger W. Byard, Jane E. Dahlstrom*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    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.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)295-312
    Number of pages18
    JournalForensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
    Volume16
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2020

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