This lecture by Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson was recorded at the 24th Annual Armed Forces Seminar on Obstetrics and Gynecology in October 1975 in San Antonio. Spontaneous abortions can be divided into three major groups: embryos that are in the preclinical stage of less than four to six weeks and therefore not identified, clinically identified embryos in the first trimester, and abortions and stillbirths that occur in the second or third trimester. Doctors have found that unviable, morphologically abnormal embryos are quite common in the preclinical stage. This can be attributed to chromosomal abnormalities, which account for about half of all cases. The incidence of such an abortion increases the risk of recurrence, and another factor contributing to this may be genetic incompatibilities between the maternal and paternal sides. The second part of the lecture focuses on common heritable factors in gynecological disorders, including polygenic conditions, infertility, Stein-Leventhal syndrome, and cancer.
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