#placentae

Umbilical cord shows variations in its insertion at the placenta. This reflects the underlying modifications of fetal circulation in the intrauterine life. Knowledge regarding the prevalence of variations in the umbilical cord insertion is essential for obstetricians and peadiatricians to predict the developmental abnormalities in fetal circulation. The present study was done to evaluate the various types of umbilical cord insertions encountered in the human placentae delivered in a tertiary care hospital. 80 placentae with umbilical cords were collected for 6 months from the hospital with the concerned permissions. They were washed thoroughly and fixed in 10 formalin for preservation. Each placenta was observed carefully for the umbilical cord insertion. The results were analysed and represented graphically. There were no considerable knots observed in the stumps of the cords. All the cords had normal three vessels on cross section i.e., two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein. When the patterns of insertions were examined, 71 showed normal central insertion, 29 were abnormal where 19 marginal, 7 furcate and 3 exhibited velamentous insertion. When compared with other studies, they correlated. The present study depicts the various abnormal types of umbilical cord insertions from the human placentae collected from a tertiary care hospital.