“…Prolonged fixation makes the tissue firm and provides a better cut surface than sectioning after short fixation, when the tissue will still be friable. The various lesions that may easily be seen include true infarcts, perivillous fibrin deposits, intervillous thrombosis, and septal cysts (Fox, 1963(Fox, , 1964Devi, Jennison, and Langley, 1968). Four or five blocks of tissue should be taken from the central slice and membranes for microscopic examination: one through the whole thickness of the placenta at the centre of the slice and another at the site of insertion of the cord if this is not central; one at each end of the central slice and including a little of the adjacent membrane; another in the membranes at the site of rupture; and a transverse section of the cord about an inch from the foetal surface (Fig.…”