Alpana Hatibaruah1
It is only the eutherian mammals that have evolved a complex organ - “The Placenta” which not only protect but also gives nutrition to the embryo till its birth. We should see that the placenta is more than just some messy after birth to be discarded and ignored in the excitement and joy over the birth of a beautiful new child. So, this study aims to evaluate the macroscopic study of placenta and to explore the morphological variation of placenta with respect to preterm, term and post term pregnancy.
MATERIALS AND METHOD: It’s a hospital based Prospective Nonrandomized Observational study of 90 placentae, conducted in the Department of Anatomy and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, FAAMCH, Barpeta.
RESULTS: The macroscopic study of placenta revealed that most of the placentae were discoidal in shape, only a few oval. The weight of the term and post term placentae were more than preterm placentae. Comparison of weight between preterm and term categories were found to be significant (p<0.01) whereas comparison of weight between term and post-term were found to be just significant (p<0.05). A difference in diameter between preterm and term cases were seen whereas the difference was less in respect to term and post-term cases, statistically just significant (p<0.05). Thickness showed no major difference, the number of cotyledons found were 15–20 and the arrangement of chorionic vessels were similar in all the three categories of placentae. Out of 90 placentae two placentae had marginal attachment and seven had velamentous insertion of cord, rest of them were eccentric in position.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, it is obvious that the various parameters of placenta are subjected to slight variations in preterm, term and post-term placentae. Direct examination and assessment of placental parameters contribute to the assessment of the neonate; help to explain certain antenatal events and aid in the management of the puerpera.
