Perinatal exposure to carcinogens may contribute to the determination of susceptibility to cancer in two situations: a) exposure in utero of embryonal or fetal somatic cells to carcinogens, and b) prezygotic exposure of the germ cells of one or both parents to carcinogens. Epidemiological as well as experimental studies demonstrate that exposure to carcinogens in utero increases the occurrence ...

BACKGROUND Preclinical evidence suggests that commonly used anesthetic agents induce long-lasting neurobehavioral changes when administered early in life, but there has been virtually no attention to the neurodevelopmental consequences for the fetus of maternal anesthesia. This study tested the hypothesis that fetal rats exposed to isoflurane during maternal anesthesia on gestational day 14, wh...

The subject of fetal oxygenation has been of interest since the days before Christ. The importance of breathing to adults is only too obvious. The precise nature of the substance breathed was not determined until the discovery of oxygen in the late 18th century. In spite of this it is only normal that speculation should have occurred as to how the fetus in utero in fact received whatever the su...

The decision of myomectomy is not usually taken by OBG specialist for uterine fibroids during pregnancy because of its complications which may become hazardous at times. This is why it is generally delayed until after delivery. The current case was a large, asymptomatic subserous uterine myoma diagnosed during pregnancy by ultrasound and successfully managed by antepartum myomectomy retaining t...

The causes of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are multifactorial with both intrinsic and extrinsic influences. While many studies focus on the intrinsic pathological causes, the possible long-term consequences resulting from extrinsic intrauterine physiological constraints merit additional consideration and further investigation. Infants with IUGR can exhibit early symmetric or late asym...

justifiably concerned that her baby was convulsing in utero. It was subsequently noticed that her baby was frequently affected by hiccups following a feed. The hiccups occurred at a rate of one per second and lasted for several minutes at a time; this phenomenon persisted to the age of three months. It is known that the fetus drinks liquor in utero, and hiccups have been demonstrated by real-ti...

The term environmental estrogen refers to chemical substances that exhibit some degree of estrogen-like activity. The primary emphasis for potential adverse effects resulting from exposure to environmental estrogens is on in utero exposure because such exposures can occur during critical periods of organogenesis. Assessment of biological plausibility can be based, in part, on the extensive data...

Vertical transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from an infected mother to her fetus or infant can occur in utero and probably during labor and delivery. Transmission via breast milk has also been documented. Because of limitations of conventional HIV testing in infants, it is difficult to determine the rate of transmission from an infected mother to her fetus or infant, but it is p...

Lasiocarpine has been administered intragastrically to pregnant rats maintained on control and on lipotrope-deficient diets during gestation. Effects of the toxin on the maternal liver have been noted as well as the transplacental effects on the newborn rat at birth and at seven weeks postpartum. A schedule of treatment was achieved which resulted in no detectable morphologic alterations in the...

FETAL: designates a period intra-uterine development that begins when the product of conception reaches a crown-rump length of 30 mm, usually by 55 or 56 days after fertilization, and ends at the moment of birth. The product of conception during this period is called a fetus. The period before fetal is embryonic, and the product of conception during that earlier period is termed an embryo. Form...