Placenta as an important component of the «mother-placenta-fetus» medical-biological system: A literature review

Abstract

Relevance: To date, there is no single approach between clinicians and morphologists in assessing the role of placental insufficiency in the development of fetal and maternal pathology. This situation is due, firstly, to the complexity of the histological assessment of the degree of compensatory reaction of placental tissue, and secondly, to the assessment of the degree of its maturity and the level of circulatory disorders that affect the features of intrauterine development of the child.The study aimed to review the placenta examination as an essential component of objective diagnostics to identify prenatal risks for the baby.Materials and Methods: A comprehensive search was performed in the databases e-Library, Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase to identify relevant articles on the topic published over the past decade. A total of 78 publications were analyzed, of which 47 articles corresponded to the purpose of the study.Results: By the nature of the structural state of the placenta, it is possible to diagnose vascular and dystrophic changes and verify inflammatory processes of nonspecific and specific genesis. Since the placenta serves as a mirror image of the infectious pathology of the mother, their children are at risk of infection.Conclusion: Thus, the assessment of the nature of morphological changes in the placenta, both in the relatively physiological course of pregnancy and the presence of pathology of pregnancy and childbirth, with somatic or infectious pathology of the mother, makes it possible to make a prognosis about the condition of the child, both during intrauterine development, and to give a prognostic assessment during the newborn and postnatal period.