Pathology of the Human Placenta (4th ed.)

Most obstetricians and pediatricians would agree that the examination of the pla­ centa often helps to explain an abnormal neonatal outcome. As early as in 1892, Bal­ lantyne wrote that A diseased faetus without its placenta is an imperfect specimen, and a description of a foetal malady, unless accompanied by a notice of the placental condition, is incomplete. Deductions drawn from such a case cannot be considered as conclusive, for in the missing placenta or cord may have existed the cause of t