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Intrauterine Infections

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Pathology of the Human Embryo and Previable Fetus

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Abstract

Our understanding of the role of intrauterine infection in the etiology of pregnancy loss has been seriously hampered by the large number of microorganisms associated with placental and fetal pathology. Difficulties in accurately diagnosing clinical disease in the mother, due to the fact that many infections have nonspecific symptoms or that the mother may have an asymptomatic disease, have also interfered with our investigations. Microbiologic diagnoses are further complicated by the fact that many putative fetal pathogens may reside normally in the maternal genital tract as commensal flora (e.g., group B streptococci, mycoplasmas). To make it more complex, obtaining appropriate, noncontaminated embryonic, fetal, and placental samples for culture in both early and late pregnancy loss is difficult. Special culture or detection techniques are required for some organisms (e.g., Chlamydia, Mycoplasma) and interpretations of microbial growth in cultures are often complicated by the presence of other microorganisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital, V6H 3V4, Vancouver, Canada

    Dagmar K. Kalousek MD, FRCPC, FCCMG (Professor)

  2. Department of Pathology, Lady Davis Institute, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, The University of British Columbia, H3T 1E2, Montreal, Canada

    Naomi Fitch MD, PhD (Visiting Assistant Professor)

  3. Embryopathology Unit, BC Children’s Hospital, V6H 3V4, Vancouver, Canada

    Barbara A. Paradice ART (Laboratory Technologist)

Authors
  1. Dagmar K. Kalousek MD, FRCPC, FCCMG
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  2. Naomi Fitch MD, PhD
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  3. Barbara A. Paradice ART
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© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Kalousek, D.K., Fitch, N., Paradice, B.A. (1990). Intrauterine Infections. In: Pathology of the Human Embryo and Previable Fetus. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2111-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2111-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2113-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2111-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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