Umbilical cord separation: histological findings and perinatal factors.
The aim of this study was to investigate if perinatal factors influenced the histology of the umbilical area of neonates who died when umbilical cord separation was occurring or had just been completed. It was found that the older the infant was at death the greater the degree of infiltration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes into the area of separation of the umbilical cord. The infiltration was less when the infant was delivered by caesarean section than when the infant was delivered vaginally. The other factors studied (sex, birth-weight, gestational age, positive blood culture, time of rupture of the membranes) did not influence the histological findings.
Oudesluys-Murphy
A M
AM
Department of Paediatrics, Zuiderziekenhuis, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
den Hollander
J C
JC
Hop
W C
WC
D001724:Birth Weight; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*