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Background: Intrauterine fetal death and perinatal death represent one of the most relevant medical scientific problems since, in many cases, even after extensive investigation, the causes remain unknown. The considerable increase in medical legal litigation in the obstetrical field that has witnessed in recent years, especially in cases of stillborn births, has simultaneously involved the figure of the forensic pathologist in scientific research aimed at clarifying the pathophysiological processes underlying stillbirth., Methods: our study aims to analyze cases of sudden intrauterine unexplained death syndrome (SIUD) to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in the complex pathogenetic process of stillbirth. In particular, the immunohistochemical expression of specific oxidative stress markers (NOX2, NT, iNOS, 8-HODG, IL-6) was evaluated in tissue samples of placentas of SIUDs belonging to the extensive case series (20 cases), collected from autopsy cases of the University of Ferrara and Politecnica delle Marche between 2017 and 2023., Results: The study demonstrated the involvement of oxidative stress in intrauterine fetal deaths in the placenta of the cases examined. In SIUD, the most expressed oxidative stress markers were NOX2 and 8-HODG., Conclusions: The study contributes to investigating the role of oxidative stress in modulating different pathways in unexplained intrauterine fetal death (SIUD) tissues.

Introduction: Hepatic hemangiomas (HH) are benign vascular tumors, and when large, may contribute to fetal morbidity/mortality. Chorangiosis is placental villus capillary hypervascularity, probably linked with fetal hypoxia., Case Report: We present a macrosomic stillbirth at 39 + 3 weeks of gestation with congestive heart failure (CHF) and myocardial infarction. A giant right hepatic lobe HH was present, along with placental chorangiosis., Conclusion: A common pathogenetic pathway between congenital HH and placental chorangiosis has not been reported. Our case suggests that the effects of HH and chorangiosis increase the risk of late fetal loss due to the high-output CHF.

The term "Lotus Birth" identifies the practice of not cutting the umbilical cord and of leaving the placenta attached to the newborn after its expulsion until it detaches spontaneously, which generally occurs 3-10 days after birth. The first reported cases of Lotus Birth date back to 2004 in Australia.Supporters of such a procedure claim that the newborn is better perfused, endowed with a more robust immune system and "less stressed".However, it should be pointed out that histopathological study of the placenta is increasingly being requested in order to investigate problems of an infective nature or dysmaturity affecting the foetus, and situations of risk affecting the mother. Moreover, from the legal standpoint, there is no uniform position on the question of whether the placenta belongs to the mother or to the newborn. Lastly, a proper conservation of the embryonic adnexa is very difficult and includes problems of a hygiene/health, infectivological and medico-legal nature.The authors analyzed all these aspect in the Italian legislative framework, reaching the conclusion that Lotus Birth is inadvisable from both the scientific and logical/rational points of view.

Objective: This study reviews the surgical pathology reports of post-partum hemorrhages to support clinicians in malpractice litigation and, potentially, to enhance pregnancy-related diagnoses., Study Design: This work is a retrospective study of surgical pathology reports of term pregnancies between January 2000 and January 2012 selected from the Surgical Pathology database of the I.R.C.C.S Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino-IST (Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genoa)., Results: Ninety-five revision reports were identified (0.22% "placenta accrete," 0.46% "non-accreta placental tissue retention," and 0.31% "no placental fragments retention"). Secondary post-partum hemorrhages occurred in 0.3%, and primary PPH occurred in 0.05%, regardless of the group examined. Both types of PPH were most often associated with vaginal deliveries (58%). The most frequent endometrial finding was post-partum endometritis (43%). The entire placenta was submitted to the pathologist in 22/95 cases (23%). Hypermaturity and/or villous immaturity were the main histological patterns., Conclusions: This review supports the hypothesis that the pathological placenta abnormalities observed, rather than underlying myometrium abnormalities, may underlie the contractile failure and the incomplete removal of the placenta. For these reasons, the authors emphasized the importance of investigating the placenta in cases of complicated deliveries not associated with PPH to support clinicians in malpractice claims.

In this article, the authors present a case of intrauterine foetal death (IUFD). The post-mortem histologic examination revealed placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD), a rare human placental disorder. Moreover, cases of PMD are often misdiagnosed as partial mole. The mother was a 26-year-old Italian, whose pregnancy, her first, had been uneventful until week 34⁺⁴ of gestation when IUFD suddenly occurred. The 2350 g male foetus showed no external abnormalities and the karyotype was 46, XY. The placenta weighed 450 g, the chorionic disk was round shaped, measuring 19.5-20.5 cm in diameter and had many enlarged villous structures. Histologically, the parenchyma showed abnormally enlarged and focally hydropic stem villi. Many of them were also surrounded by a fibrinoid material. Neither abnormal trophoblastic proliferation nor inclusion was observed in the examined sections. Causes and pathogenesis of PMD are still unclear and it is difficult to make a diagnosis solely on prenatal ultrasound during pregnancy. Generally, the correct diagnosis is reached only after the histological analysis of the placenta. However, obstetricians and gynaecologists should consider PMD also when a normal looking foetus is accompanied by a molar placenta (index factor for placentomegaly). The authors stress the importance of cooperation and information exchange among clinical and forensic pathologists, neonatologists, obstetricians and gynaecologists to avoid medical malpractice court proceedings in cases of IUFD.

The role of lymphatics in placentation has been scantily studied and the true existence of placental lymphatics is under debate. Numerous blood and lymphatic-lineage molecule markers are now available and they are expressed in human placental tissue. D2-40 expression at the placental stromal level seems to indicate that network-forming, podoplanin-expressing cells may act as a reticular-lymphatic-like conductive network. This exciting area at the intersection of perinatology and lymphology needs further investigation.

We describe a rare case of transplacental-transmitted maternal melanoma to the placenta and foetus during the second pregnancy of a 28-year-old woman. She was aware of a greyish-brown nodular lesion on the right gluteus during her first pregnancy. On histological examination, this lesion resulted to be an amelanocitic melanoma. Breast metastases occurred during her second pregnancy, 18 months after the surgical excision; an emergency Caesarean section performed for the recrudement of her clinical conditions confirmed widespread metastases to the liver, spleen and peritoneum. The patient died 2 weeks after delivery. The newborn, at 3 months of age, presented metastases secondary to maternal melanoma, which were resistant to chemotherapy. The disease regressed spontaneously and the child is now 24 months, alive in complete remission.

The authors present a case of stillbirth in which histologic examination of the placenta provides the opportunity to make a definitive diagnosis of a death due to fetal thrombotic vasculopathy (FTV). Establishing the etiology in cases of stillbirth may avoid medical malpractice litigation. The better knowledge of the cause of stillbirths also helped obstetricians to recognize factors that could have prejudiced future pregnancies.

This work describes some placental alterations found in a partial form of DiGeorge sequence, namely, hypoplasia of a cord artery with internal calcification of an extensive endoluminal thrombosis, and widespread calcification of microthrombi in the arteries of the second and third order villous branches. Hypoplasia of a cord artery is a relatively rare event, and is also associated with malformations of the gastroenteric and cardiovascular system, as sometimes described in the DiGeorge sequence. Interesting placental alterations are reported and their likely physiopathologic basis and pathogenic correlation discussed in order to give a better and more comprehensive picture of the DiGeorge sequence in which the correlated placental alterations are not sufficiently known., ((c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel)

The histological examination of the placenta helps to better understand both pathological pregnancies and fetal growth defects, therefore the true beneficiary of the histological diagnosis is the newborn. Of the 492 newborns born between the 1o April and 30 June 2000 we analyzed 142 placentas, following a modified Macpherson e Szulman's protocol. Only 73 of the 142 newborns have been hospitalized in the pathological division. The placental histological diagnosis of the remaining 69 hospitalized in "Rooming in" showed that only 10 placentas were in the normality; 22 placentas showed alterations referable to a dysmetabolic, dysglicicemyc and hypertension maternal pathology without there being lesions that could interfere with the development and maturation of the fetus; 37 placentas showed indicative lesions of hypoxic and ischemic fetal sofference of varing gravity. These data show how the histological examination of the placenta has many benefits in the immediate care of newborns, in subsequent evaluations and in the pediatric age.