Placenta: angiogenesis and vascular assessment through three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasonography.
The placenta is fundamental for fetal development. It combines the functions of an endocrine organ, kidneys, lungs and intestines, purifying catabolites, oxygenating and nourishing the conceptus. Its fetal portion is the largest part develops from the chorionic sac. The maternal portion, which is smaller, is originated in the endometrium, more specifically in the decidua basalis. The placenta starts its function closer to the fourth week of gestation, when anatomical arrangements for the physiological exchanges are already established. The circulatory function of the placenta appears at an early stage of embryo-placental development and it is strongly related to fetal growth, to the placental size and to uterine and umbilical blood flows. Therefore, an adequate placental angiogenesis is critical for the establishment of a normal placental vascularization with consequent normal development of the fetus. In this review article, the authors discuss about placental ontogeny, focusing on the main aspects of its normal development, and about the recent advances in ultrasonography for the study of the vascular architecture of the placenta through three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasonography.
Guimarães Filho
Hélio Antonio
HA
Obstetrics Department, São Paulo Federal University-Paulista School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil. helioagf@ig.com.br
da Costa
Lavoisier Linhares Dias
LL
Araújo Júnior
Edward
E
Nardozza
Luciano Marcondes Machado
LM
Nowak
Paulo Martin
PM
Moron
Antonio Fernandes
AF
Mattar
Rosiane
R
Pires
Cláudio Rodrigues
CR
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D021041:Placental Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler