Products of conception
Micrograph of products of conception. Chorionic villi (right of image) and cartilage, i.e. fetal parts (left of image). H&E stain.
Products of conception, abbreviated POC, is medical term used for the tissue derived from the union of an egg and a sperm. It encompasses anembryonic gestation (blighted ovum) which does not have a viable embryo.
It may refer to tissue either from a therapeutic abortion or a miscarriage.
In the context of tissue from a dilation and curettage, the presence of POC essentially excludes an ectopic pregnancy.
Pathology
The term in surgical pathology implies the presence of normal chorionic villi and the absence of trophoblastic pathology, e.g. complete hydatidiform mole.[1]Embryonal or fetal parts may or may not be present.
References
- ^ Tasci, Y.; Dilbaz, S.; Secilmis, O.; Dilbaz, B.; Ozfuttu, A.; Haberal, A. (Dec 2005). "Routine histopathologic analysis of product of conception following first-trimester spontaneous miscarriages.". J Obstet Gynaecol Res 31 (6): 579–82. doi:10.1111/j.1447-0756.2005.00341.x. PMID 16343264.
