PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - CĂTĂLIN GABRIEL HERGHELEGIU AU - ADRIAN NEACȘU AU - RALUCA CHIRCURESCU AU - DORU HERGHELEGIU AU - SILVIU CRISTIAN VOINEA AU - CAMELIA DIACONU AU - OVIDIU STIRU AU - CORNEL SAVU AU - ALEXANDRU FILIPESCU AU - IRINA BALESCU AU - NICOLAE BACALBASA AU - NICOLAE SUCIU TI - Pathological Examination of the Late Embryonic Heart Using the Same 4-chamber and 3-vessel Planes Used in Fetal Echocardiography AID - 10.21873/invivo.12288 DP - 2021 Jan 01 TA - In Vivo PG - 533--539 VI - 35 IP - 1 4099 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/533.short 4100 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/533.full SO - In Vivo2021 Jan 01; 35 AB - Background/Aim: The incidence of early pregnancy loss widely varies according to age, being considerably higher in older women. Severe congenital malformations play an important role in pregnancy loss, having a high risk of recurrence. Congenital heart defects are the most common congenital abnormalities, thus the diagnosis of such malformations in aborted embryos is important for establishing both a possible cause for pregnancy loss and for correctly counseling the parents. Pathologic examination of the heart that is only a few millimeters in size, is very challenging. Patients and Methods: A pathologic examination protocol using transverse microscopic sections at the level of the 4-chamber and 3-vessel planes is proposed for heart evaluation. Results: Two 9-10 gestational weeks embryos were microscopically examined using transverse slides of the thorax. The 4-chamber and 3-vessel slides were analyzed and compared to 11-13 weeks ultrasound images of the 4-chamber and 3-vessel views from 10 cases. The pathologic examination provided a detailed view of the ventricles, atria and great vessels, sometime surpassing even the ultrasound examination that was performed at a later gestational age. Conclusion: We consider our proposed pathologic examination protocol feasible for evaluating normal heart structures and ruling out severe congenital heart disease.