[Placental morphometric parameters correlated with serum estriol].

In 50 pregnancies morphometric parameters of the placenta and the serum estriol values in the third trimester were correlated. The results show that there is no correlation between the placental parameters as determined by a semi-automatic method and the estriol values in maternal serum in late pregnancy. The placental parameters probably do not reflect the biochemical activity of the trophoblast. A sufficient capacity of the placenta for estriol synthesis must be taken into account independently of its morphological substrate.