[Morphometric mitochondrial studies in the placenta of early pregnancies following a normal course of pregnancy and in maternal diabetes mellitus]

Abstract

89 electron micrographs from a diabetic placenta of the 8th week of pregnancy and from two normal placentas of the same period of gestation are investigated morphometrically. In the trophoblast mitochondria of the diabetic placenta the surface/volume ratio between the surface of the cristae and mitochondrial volume shows a statistically significant reduction as compared to the values in the normal placenta of the same period of gestation. The morphological changes of the placenta are being related to disorders of the regulation of the metabolic processes in diabetes mellitus in early pregnancy.