title: Three umbilical arteries resulting in a four-vessel umbilical cord in a stillbirth.
abstract: Here we first describe a four-vessel umbilical cord including three umbilical arteries and one vein in a stillbirth. A 28-year-old woman delivered a 2360 g stillbirth in the 33th week of gestation. The infant had no gross anomalies. The placenta was examined pathologically, and the cord was measured as 60.0 cm long, which has four vessels with three arteries and one vein throughout its whole length confirmed by direct and microscopic examination. Fibro-necrosis and dotted necrosis were found in the placenta. A pregnancy with three umbilical arteries may need fetal monitoring during the second trimester. Further observation and adequate investigation are needed in such cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zengyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Umbilical cord; anomalies; stillbirth; umbilical arteries