Placental hypoxia: The lesions of maternal malperfusion

The placental lesions classically ascribed to placental hypoxia, here denoted maternal malperfusion (MMP), are among the more significant that a placental pathologist may encounter. Yet the appearance of these lesions may be subtle, and the clinical implication of their diagnosis is frequently unclear. The aim of this review is to provide a more nuanced perspective on the clinical utility of placental pathology for the detection of MMP. The review will first detail MMP lesions in the placenta and discuss their associations with pregnancy complications. The review will then delve into the diagnostic and interpretive difficulties of these lesions. Finally, recent research findings that may aid in the development of better diagnostic tools will be briefly discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.