Maternal Physiology Flashcards
Uterus of pregnant woman
Thin walled muscular organ
5L to 20 L
500-1000x greater than non pregnant
1100g weight
Uterus
There is increase in myocytes size and accumulation of fibrous tissue at
External muscle layer
Uterine hypertrophy early in pregnancy is stimulated by the action of
Estrogen and progesterone
Myocyte arrangement
Archers over the fundus and extends into the various ligaments
Outer hood like layer
Myocyte arrangement
Dense network of muscle fibers perforated in all directions by blood vessels
Middle layer
Middle layer form a figure of
8
Allow the. Muscle fibers to constrict and penetrate blood vessel
Myocyte arrangement
With sphincter like fibers around the Fallopian tube orifices and internal cervical os
Internal layer
Height of fundus
First few weeks
Maintain original piriform or pear shape
Height of fundus
12 weeks
Corpus and fundus - globular or spherical
Height of fundus
End of 12 week
Can be palpated in the abdominal cavity
Uterine contractility
Irregular contractions that are normally painless
Braxton hicks contractions
Braxton hicks intensities
5-25 mmHg
Uterine contractility
Number of contractions increase in the last week or two
10-20 minutes with rhythmicity
Utero placental blood flow
500-750 ml/min
Utero placental blood flow
Placental perfusion is dependent on
Total uterine blood flow
Utero placental blood flow
Uterine blood flow is proportional to
Contraction intensity
Utero placental blood flow regulation
Maternal placental BF progressively increases during
Gestation by vasodilation
Utero placental blood flow regulation
Doubled by 20 weeks to accommodate the size of the uterus. This is also consequence of estrogen stimulation
Uterine artery
Utero placental blood flow regulation
Regulates blood flow
Estradiol
Progestin
Relaxin
Utero placental blood flow regulation
Make blood vessel contract
Norepinephrine
Angiotensin 2
Cervix maintenance of pregnancy
1 month after conception, the cervix begins to undergo pronounced softening and cyanosis. Because of
Edema of the entire cervix
Hyperplasia of cervical glands
Cervix maintenance of pregnancy
Necessary to permit functions as diverse as maintenance of a pregnancy to term,and repair following parturition
Rearrangement of collagen rich
Cervix maintenance of pregnancy
Metabolism have a role in all these changes
Estrogen
Progesterone
Cervix maintenance of pregnancy
These normal pregnancy induced changes represent an extension or eversion of the
Proliferating columnar endocervical glands
rich in immunoglobulins and cytokines and may act as an immunological barrier to protect the uterine contents against infection
Mucus plug
Cervical mucus consistency changes as a result of progesterone
Beading
Beading
When cervical mucus is spread and dried on a glass slide it is characterized by
Poor crystallization
Arborization of crystals observed as a result of amniotic fluid leakage
Ferning
Pregnancy is associated with both endocervical gland hyperplasia and hyper secretory appearance
Arias Stella reaction
This protein hormone is secreted by corpus luteum as well as the decidua and the placenta
Relaxin