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Oedema‐preventing mechanisms in subcutaneous tissue of normal pregnant women
Author(s) -
ØIN PÄL,
MALTAU JAN MARTIN,
NODDELAND HAROLD,
FADNES HANS OLAV
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1985.tb03021.x
Subject(s) - subcutaneous tissue , medicine , new normal , obstetrics , pathology , disease , covid-19 , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Summary. Fluid transport between the plasma and interstitial fluid compartment is governed by the Starling forces, i.e. the capillary pressure (P c ). interstitial fluid hydrostatic pressure (P i ) and colloid osmotic pressure in plasma ( COP i ) and interstitial fluid ( COP i ). The COP P , COP i and P i were measured in 10 normal pregnant women in the first and 10 women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Interstitial fluid was collected from subcutaneous tissue by implanted wicks and P i was measured by the‘wick‐in‐needle’technique. The COP P was reduced from 23.2 mmHg in the first trimester to 21.1 mmHg in the third trimester. Concomitantly, COP i decreased from 13.1 to 8.4 mmHg on the thorax and from 9.6 to 5.5 mmHg at the ankle. Only small changes in P i were observed. The more marked fall in COP i than in COP P indicates that a rise in P e , in addition to hypoproteinaemia, contributes to increased capillary fluid filtration in pregnancy. The reduction in COP i opposes the increased filtration and thereby prevents a rise in interstitial fluid volume and oedema formation. These physiological changes imply a reduced safety margin against oedema formation in late pregnancy.