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Case Reports
. 2020 Nov 30;13(11):e237222.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-237222.

Absence of Wharton's jelly

Sarah J Murphy  1 , Nikita Deegan  2 , Bobby D O'Leary  2 , Peter McParland  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Absence of Wharton's jelly

Sarah J Murphy et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

Wharton's jelly is a specialised tissue which surrounds the vasculature within the fetal umbilical cord. We present the case of a 42-year-old woman who gave birth to a female infant via emergency caesarean section. At the time of delivery, absence of Wharton's jelly was noted. This finding was confirmed by histological examination. Emergency caesarean section was necessitated due to a fetal bradycardia, and of note, the patient had presented twice prior to this with reduced fetal movements.

Keywords: materno-fetal medicine; obstetrics and gynaecology; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Image of the umbilical cord.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Umbilical cord with absence of Wharton’s jelly.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Umbilical vessels visible outside the umbilical cord.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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