Acid hematin pigmentation of the cornea in stillborn fetuses.
During the postmortem histopathologic evaluation of eyes from stillborn fetuses we noted the presence of a prominent undescribed corneal pigment in 18 of 55 stillborn fetuses. The corneal pigment was frequently associated with documented meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and in no instance was a stained cornea coupled with recorded clear amniotic fluid. Pigmented corneas came from stillborn fetuses with a longer duration of intrauterine death than nonstained corneas. The pigment stained black with the Fontana-Masson stain, was birefringent, and treatment of tissue sections with 5% potassium permanganate and 5% oxalic acid as well as with saturated alcoholic picric acid solution removed the pigment indicating that it is acid hematin. The most likely cause of the acid hematin-stained corneas was tissue acidity created in utero with prolonged intrauterine death.
Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
M W
MW
Scroggs
D B
DB
Chandler
G W
GW
Klintworth
D003315:Cornea / Q000032:analysis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D005313:Fetal Death; D005333:Fetus / Q000032:analysis* / Q000473:pathology; D006418:Heme / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006427:Hemin / Q000032:analysis*; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010858:Pigmentation
D006418:Heme; D006427:Hemin