2022 AMI Online Salon
Early Placental Anatomy with Future Chorion Laeve and Implantation Site
Project Details
- Entrant Name: Lydia Gregg
- Client: Johns Hopkins Pathology
- Copyright: Johns Hopkins University, 2021
- Medium/software used: Zbrush, Photoshop, Cinema 4D
- Final presentation format: The image is projected on a high-resolution large format LCD screen for presentations and discussions, allowing small details to be appreciated.
- Primary Audience: Residents and fellows of gynecological pathology
Project Description
It can be difficult to learn placental histology without a foundational understanding of basic early placental anatomy. The image was created to contextualize placental architecture. The main image depicts placental anatomy at 9 weeks gestation, including the appearance of villi within the intervillus space, which is continuous around the gestational sac at this stage. The top right inset depicts the appearance of the future chorion laeve after obliteration of the intervillous space around the outer margin of the gestational sac. The villi degenerate into ghost villi by the third trimester. The lower right inset depicts the anchoring villus at the implantation site with intermediate trophoblast (IT) cells temporarily plugging a spiral artery prior to the intervillous space filling with blood. The appearance of the villi tips is also depicted along with microvilli on the surface of fused syncytiotrophoblast (ST) cells, which absorb nutrients, exchange gases, and eliminate waste.
