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PubMed1984

Structure-function correlation in the human placenta: the morphometric diffusing capacity for oxygen at full term.

A combination of stereology and physiology is used to estimate the morphometric diffusing capacity for oxygen of the normal human placenta at term. The morphometric diffusing capacity is found to be higher than published values determined by physiological methods. The most likely explanation for this discrepancy is that physiological values are too low because of the effects of shunts, placental oxygen consumption and uneven diffusion:perfusion ratios. Despite the discrepancy, morphometry of histological sections offers a valuable and practicable alternative for comparing the functional potential of the placenta in different species, during normal gestation, disease, experimental treatment and environmental hypoxic stress.

Diffusion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Stereological studies on the true thickness of the villous membrane in human term placentae: a study of placentae from high-altitude pregnancies.

Stereological principles were used to calculate functionally significant dimensions of the human villous membrane, its arithmetic mean thickness (Ta) and its harmonic mean thickness (Th). The former is proportional to tissue mass and oxygen consumption, the latter to diffusional resistance. For a group of 15 term placentae from uncomplicated pregnancies at high altitude, the average values were Ta = 4.44 micron, Th = 3.56 micron and Ta/Th = 1.26. The latter figure provides a useful quantitative expression for the efficiency of the membrane in gas and metabolite diffusion. It implies that vasculosyncytial membranes and syncytial knots decrease resistance to diffusion by 26 per cent, compared with that of a membrane with uniform thickness throughout. The methods are simple to apply and provide better estimates of true thickness than do measurements confined to thin sections.

Altitude↗