Hemodynamic consequences of incomplete uterine spiral artery transformation in human pregnancy, with implications for placental dysfunction and preeclampsia

Abstract

Human pregnancy requires dramatic increase in uteroplacental blood supply achieved by geometric transformation of uterine spiral arteries and facilitated by trophoblast invasion of these arteries to greatly reduce resistance to flow. Incomplete transformation has been associated with failed pregnancies, preeclampsia, and other pathologies, but a quantitative measure of “incompleteness” has been unavailable so far. We use a mathematical model to obtain a numerical threshold for this measure which may serve as a future diagnostic marker.