Fetal autopsy: the most important contribution of pathology in a center for perinatal medicine

Objective: The aim of the current paper is to analyze the significant changes in fetal autopsy made by pathologists in a center for perinatal medicine in response to the recent rapid developments in prenatal medicine.

Methods: We use our technical equipment (interdisciplinary databank, Intranet, fine instruments, imaging techniques) for prenatal diagnostics and fetal pathology in the Center for Perinatal Medicine at the Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany.

Results: Our technical setup has made it possible for us to plan autopsies in such a way that rare malformations in special cases can be documented in sectional planes corresponding to the prenatal sonographic images. Before the postmortem examination the pathologist receives all the prenatal findings obtained for the fetus and is able to examine the prenatal images on a monitor. The final diagnosis in the postmortem report includes the results of modern molecular pathology, clinical-genetic examination of the fetus, cytogenetic and molecular-cytogenetic findings and postmortem x-rays.

Conclusions: To be able to incorporate these various results into a final report in routine work the use of an interdisciplinary database is essential. Such a database also ensures faster and more productive interdisciplinary communication in a center of perinatal medicine.