[Placenta morphology and Doppler ultrasound of umbilical cord vessels in premature infants]

There is a raised morbidity and mortality in fetuses with pathological waveforms in the umbilical arteries. Less differentiation of the placental villi could (partly) explain this finding.We examined a total of 51 placentas (28th to 35th week of gestation) as to a correlation between dopplersonographical findings in the umbilical arteries and placenta morphometry.In the groups with pathological waveforms there was not only a reduction in the weight of the placenta and child, but also less differentiation of the placental villi. The occurrence of so-called sprouts did not correlate with the dopplersonographical findings.The raised fetal morbidity and mortality in premature infants with pathological waveforms in the umbilical arteries can at least partly be explained less differentiation of the placental villi. We found no correlation with the occurrence of sprouts.