Sofie Banjasová¹, Octavia Butler¹ and Paul H Hartel²,³*

¹ Department of Life Sciences, Atlantic Technological University, Ireland
² Department of Pathology, University Hospital Sligo, Ireland
³ Department of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, USA

*Corresponding Author: Paul Hartel, Professor, Department of Pathology, University Hospital Sligo, Ireland.

Received: April 14, 2026 Published: April 29, 2026

Abstract

Gross and histopathologic descriptions of circummarginate placentas compared with normal membrane placentas is virtually non-existent in pathology literature. We reviewed 50 circummarginate placentas from term pregnancies in the SUH catchment area from 2016-2026 and compared gross and histopathologic findings with 50 placentas with normal membrane insertion. Gross and histologic findings with the greatest difference in prevalence compared with controls included those associated with maternal vascular malperfusion such as increased peri villous fibrin deposition, distal villous hypoplasia, infarction, chronic chorionitis, retroplacental haematoma and villous oedema. Circummarginate placentas did not meaningfully differ from controls regarding prevalence of acute funisitis, acute chorioamnionitis, meconium staining, increased villous capillaries, intervillous thrombi, calcifications or increased syncytial knots. As circummarginate placental membranes are visible on ultrasound beginning at around 20 weeks, increased monitoring of pregnancies from this point may help identify, monitor and/or prevent clinical conditions associated with maternal vascular malperfusion such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and hypertension, growth restriction and autoimmune diseases/ thrombophilias.

 Keywords: Circummarginate; Placenta; Maternal Vascular Malperfusion; Pre-Eclampsia

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Citation

Citation: Paul H Hartel., et al. “Toward Healthier Babies: Pathologic Findings in Circummarginate Placentas with Clinical Implications". Acta Scientific Women's Health 8.5 (2026): 03-06.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Paul H Hartel., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.