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Umbilical Cord Coiling

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Pathology of the Placenta

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Abstract

The umbilical cord has a characteristic coiling pattern with both arteries coiling around the umbilical vein. This architecture is intrinsic to the cord and cannot be undone by unwinding in the opposite direction, unlike torsion. The number of coils divided by the length of the cord is the umbilical coiling index (UCI). The coiling index is preferably determined using fresh unfixed placentas. Abnormal cord coiling, defined as a hypo-coiled (UCI <10th centile) or hyper-coiled (>90th centile), is associated with fetal demise, fetal intolerance to labour, fetal growth restriction, chorioamnionitis and fetal vascular malperfusion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Peter G. J. Nikkels

  2. Department of Histopathology, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK

    Luiz Cesar Peres

Authors
  1. Peter G. J. Nikkels
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  2. Luiz Cesar Peres
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter G. J. Nikkels .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomical Pathology, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, SA, Australia

    T. Yee Khong

  2. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Eoghan E. Mooney

  3. Department of Pathology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Peter G. J. Nikkels

  4. Department of Pathology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Terry K. Morgan

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Sanne J. Gordijn

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Nikkels, P.G.J., Peres, L.C. (2019). Umbilical Cord Coiling. In: Khong, T., Mooney, E., Nikkels, P., Morgan, T., Gordijn, S. (eds) Pathology of the Placenta. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97214-5_47

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97214-5_47

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97213-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97214-5

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