Fetal encephalopathies of circulatory origin.

Fetal brain damage may be due to a variety of pathological conditions resulting in circulatory impairments. With generalized ultrasonography of the fetus, the lesions can be detected in utero and subsequent neurological handicaps of the infants will no longer be attributed to difficult labor and birth. The type of the lesions may be anoxic-ischemic and/or hemorrhagic. The morphological appearance depends on the time of occurrence of the insult in utero and on the time elapsed between the insult and the examination of the brain. Although the pathogenesis of the lesions is not fully understood, they may be related either to maternal, fetal, or placental pathological situations. In a last group of cases no causes as yet have been found.