A system is described for the extracorporeal perfusion of the human foeto-placental unit at midgestation. The same system is used for the perfusion of isolated midgestation foetuses and midgestation or term placentas.
Various gas mixtures were used for the oxygenation of the blood to be perfused, and the pH, pO2 and pCO2 values were monitored at frequent intervals in the perfused blood as well as in the various perfusates. Compared with the values reported for maternal arterial blood, oxygenation of the blood to be perfused with an air + CO2 mixture (23.1 % O2 + 3.5–3.7 % CO2) yielded a normal pH and almost normal pO2 and pCO2 values, whereas oxygenation with carbogen (93.7 % O2 + 6.3 % CO2) resulted in low pH, highly elevated pO2 and almost normal pCO2 values.
In all foetal, placental and foeto-placental perfusions conducted at 36°C, the use of blood oxygenated with the air + CO2 mixture resulted in significantly better pH, pO2 and pCO2 values of the perfusates than when blood oxygenated with carbogen was employed. However, the pH, pO2 and pCO2 values in the perfusates obtained in the former series of experiments were still outside the range of normal values reported in the literature.
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