Pathoma: Gestational Pathology Flashcards
The most common site of ectopic pregnancy is ____________.
the fallopian tube
What are risk factors for ectopic pregnancy?
Endometriosis, abdominal surgery, and PID
The classic presentation of ectopic pregnancy is _____________.
lower-quadrant abdominal pain in a woman who’s missed a period
Most spontaneous abortions are due to ______________.
chromosomal anomalies
Other causes are hypercoagulable states, infection, or toxin exposure.
Typically, failure of organ development causes abortions between __________, while organ hypoplasia causes abortions after ___________.
week 3 and week 8; after the third month
How is placenta previa treated?
Placenta previa usually indicates C-section. This is because the fetus will press on the placenta during labor and obstruct its own blood supply.
What pathologic sign will you see in a patient with placental abruption?
Bleeding on the maternal surface of the placenta
What is decidua?
Endometrium under the effects of progesterone
Those with placenta accreta often require what treatment?
Hysterectomy because of uncontrollable bleeding
What is the overall presentation of preeclampsia?
Edema, hypertension, and proteinuria in the third trimester
Patients with _____________ may have fibrinoid necrosis in the vessels of the placenta.
preeclampsia
What is eclampsia?
Preeclampsia with seizures
Preeclampsia is thought to arise from ____________.
anomalies in the maternal-fetal vascular interface
HELLP is an example of a _______________.
thrombotic microangiopathy
What is HELLP?
Preeclampsia with Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, and Low Platelets
Why do patients with HELLP get elevated liver transaminases?
The microangiopathic thrombosis occurs in the liver, which leads to ischemia.
SIDS occurs during _______________.
one month to one year of age
What are three risk factors for SIDS?
- Smoking
- Sleeping on stomach
- Prematurity
What is the underlying idea of hydatidiform moles?
Instead of growing a baby you grow abnormal placental tissue.
What happens to the uterus in hydatidiform moles?
It expands as if the woman is pregnant–actually bigger than normal.
Histologically, the classic sign of hydatidiform moles is ________________.
edematous villi
What lab suggests hydatidiform mole?
Elevated hCG
Without prenatal care, what typically happens to hydatidiform moles?
During the second trimester, the woman will begin passing grape-like masses.
The “snowstorm” appearance of hydatidiform moles appears on ______________.
ultrasound
The risk of choriocarcinoma is greater in ___________ molar pregnancies.
complete
Which type of molar pregnancy has more edematous villi?
Complete
“They’re COMPLETEly edematous.”
In both types of molar pregnancy, there is proliferation of _______________.
the trophoblasts; in complete moles there is more proliferation, whereas in partial moles there is usually just proliferation on one side
Fetal parts are present in ________________.
partial hydatidiform moles
How are molar pregnancies treated?
D&C followed by monitoring of hCG levels (to ensure that all pieces were excised)
What histologically defines choriocarcinoma?
Absence of villi –that is, only trophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts
There are two paths to choriocarcinoma: gestational and germ cell. How are they clinically different?
Gestational choriocarcinomas typically respond to chemotherapy while germ cell ones do not.
