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Immunological Factors in Human Placentation

Abstract

A CONSIDERABLE volume of evidence from animal experiments suggests that mammalian placentation is under some kind of immunological control. In the mouse, for example, it has been shown that placental size1,2 and, indirectly, foetal size and length of gestation3 can be influenced by the materno-foetal immunological relationship. An increase in placental weight with birth order has been described in several species (mouse4, rat5, guinea-pig6 and man7,8) and this may represent an immunological effect.

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JONES, W. Immunological Factors in Human Placentation. Nature 218, 480 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218480a0

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