Practical placental examination for obstetricians

Abstract

Placental examination can simply be performed immediately in delivery room by obstetricians in which takes only few minutes. The evaluation should be done step by step, starting from umbilical cord, membranes, and disk. Indications for placental examination are divided into maternal, fetal, and placental indications. The submitted placenta for further evaluation by pathologist can be kept in refrigerator or fixed in buffered formalin.

Keywords

• gross placental examination
• umbilical cord
• membranes
• placental disk