FOETAL ANOXIA

I WISH to thank the Council of the College for the honour they have conferred upon me in the award of a Blair-Bell Memorial Lectureship. My subject is perhaps appropriate, as, in 1928, the late Professor Blair-Bell, in co-operation with colleagues in Liverpool, published the first recorded readings of the oxygen content of the blood in the umbilical vessels in the human foetus. The foetus depends for its growth and development on an adequate supply of nutrients from the mother. Oxygen is unique amongst those, as it cannot be stored and the supply must be ample and continuous. Even a moderate deficiency over a short period may seriously injure the foetus (Ingalls et al., 1950). Near term the human foetus can survive a total lack of oxygen for a period of about 30 minutes, provided its circulation is intact, and lesser degrees of anoxia for longer periods. It is doubtful, however, if it will always escape completely unharmed, as the higher cerebral centres are less resistant than the more primitive centres directly responsible for survival (Darke, 1944; Brinkman, 1953).