Histologic examination of products of conception at the time of pregnancy termination.

There is presently no agreement on the value of histologic examination of tissue samples obtained from voluntary pregnancy terminations (VPTs). Some authors believe that material obtained from uterine cavity curettage must always be histologically examined, while others propose to reserve histologic examination for specific cases of illness or family history, or when abnormalities are suspected before or during the procedure. In this study, products of conception from 1000 consecutive VPTs carried out in our department were examined. This study demonstrates that products of conception obtained from VPT cannot be considered normal a priori, and underlines benefits deriving from routine histologic examination of these products. Histologic findings have both a legal and a diagnostic value, and they provide new information on the genesis of dysmorphological conditions at a very early developmental stage and on women’s reproductive health.