ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study placental morphometric parameters in women who have experienced mono- and mixed viral respiratory infections during pregnancy. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Three groups of placentas were studied. Group 1 consisted of 25 placentas from women with physiological pregnancy; Group 2 included 25 placentas from those who had experienced parainfluenza type 3; and Group 3 comprised 25 placentas from those who had mixed respiratory viral infection (parainfluenza type 3 concurrent with influenza A (H3N2)) in the second trimester of pregnancy. The weight of the placenta and its morphometric parameters were determined on hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections using a square multifaceted stereometric grid placed in the microscopic eyepiece (magnification 15×20). RESULTS: Group 3 versus Group 2 exhibited a reduction in placental weights along with an increase in the stroma, fibrinoid around the villi and in the stroma, pseudonecroses, calcification, intermediate immature villi, small avascular villi, and hemorrhages in the intervillous space and a decrease the volume of the circulatory bed. CONCLUSION: In women in the second trimester of pregnancy, mixed viral respiratory infection has a more pronounced negative impact on the formation of the placenta.
