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Abstract

Reproductive failure occurs in all forms of life, plant and animal. I have been asked to make a few introductory or general remarks about the problem in man. Whatever I have to say is based upon 35 years’ experience in obstetric and gynecologic pathology, seasoned by interest in the early embryology of the human and interspersed with a nine-year interval as clinical obstetrician. These remarks are in no sense an exhaustive review of reproductive anatomy, physiology and pathology, even as applied to the human, let alone to mammals in general. Comments will be confined to my observations on the early or potentially abortive phases of human development and a pathologic evaluation of a thousand consecutive human abortions, most of them spontaneous.

Aided by United States Public Health Service Research Grant HD-00137.

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Hertig, A.T. (1967). The Overall Problem in Man. In: Benirschke, K. (eds) Comparative Aspects of Reproductive Failure. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-48949-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-48949-5_2

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