An integrated virtual pathology education platform developed using Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Teams.

The transition towards digital pathology and an extensive selection of video conferencing platforms have helped provide continuity to education even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative approaches for pathology education, will likely persist beyond the pandemic, as they have powerful didactic potential. While there is a wide selection of software for use as educational tools, an environment to access all resources with ease is clearly lacking.

Unique Case of Congenital Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Presenting as Intrauterine Fetal Demise.

Congenital Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) (formerly called Letterer-Siwe disease) is characterized by a clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells occurring in children at birth and manifests typically with multifocal cutaneous lesions, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, pulmonary lesions, and destructive osteolytic bone lesions. We present a case of LCH involving multiple systems high-risk organs (LCH MS-RO+), in a 32-week stillborn from a 20-year-old G2A1. The fetus was mildly hydropic and pale.

Distinctive Neuroimaging Pattern in Term Newborns With Neonatal Placental Encephalopathy: A Case Series.

Background: Identifying antepartum versus intrapartum timing and the cause of neonatal encephalopathy (NE) often remains elusive owing to our limited understanding of the underlying pathophysiological processes and lack of appropriate biomarkers.

Objectives: This retrospective observational study describes a case series of term newborns with NE who displayed a recognizable magnetic resonance imaging pattern of immediately postnatal brain abnormalities that rapidly evolved toward cavitation. Our aim is to (1) report this neuroimaging pattern, (2) look for placental determinants, and (3) depict the outcome.

Comparison of the aetiology of stillbirth over five decades in a single centre: a retrospective study.

Objective: To compare the rates and aetiologies of stillbirth over the past 50 years.

Study Design: We reviewed all autopsy reports for stillbirths occurring between 1989 and 2009 at the McGill University Health Centre to determine the pathological aetiology of stillbirths. We also reviewed maternal characteristics.

Placental mesenchymal dysplasia and an estimation of the population incidence.

Placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) is a rare placental malformation of as yet undetermined etiology. We report a single center's experience of this diagnosis and present an estimation of the population incidence. Within our institution, all placentae are examined within a pathology department that provides a dedicated perinatal service.

NLRP7 in the spectrum of reproductive wastage: rare non-synonymous variants confer genetic susceptibility to recurrent reproductive wastage.

Background: NLRP7 mutations are responsible for recurrent molar pregnancies and associated reproductive wastage. To investigate the role of NLRP7 in sporadic moles and other forms of reproductive wastage, the authors sequenced this gene in a cohort of 135 patients with at least one hydatidiform mole or three spontaneous abortions; 115 of these were new patients.

Methods/results: All mutations were reviewed and their number, nature and locations correlated with the reproductive outcomes of the patients and histopathology of their products of conception.

Vaginal douching, bacterial vaginosis, and spontaneous preterm birth.

Objective: Vaginal douching and bacterial vaginosis (BV) are independently associated with spontaneous preterm birth. Because the interrelationships among these variables remain unclear, we sought to examine the associations in a prospective study.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study within a prospectively recruited cohort of pregnant women.

Mid-trimester maternal plasma cytokines and CRP as predictors of spontaneous preterm birth.

Most previous studies of maternal cytokines and preterm birth have analyzed immunologic biomarkers after the onset of labor or membrane rupture; fewer have examined the systemic (blood) immune response prior to labor onset. We carried out a case-control study nested in a large (n=5337) prospective, multi-center cohort. Cohort women had an interview, examination, and venipuncture at 24-26 weeks.

Antioxidant vitamins, long-chain fatty acids, and spontaneous preterm birth.

Background: Neither macro- nor micronutrient supplements have been clearly demonstrated to reduce the risk of preterm birth. However, there has been little attention to carotenoids, tocopherols, and long-chain fatty acids other than n-3 polyunsaturates.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested in a large (n = 5337) prospective, multicenter cohort.

Stress pathways to spontaneous preterm birth: the role of stressors, psychological distress, and stress hormones.

The authors investigated a large number of stressors and measures of psychological distress in a multicenter, prospective cohort study of spontaneous preterm birth among 5,337 Montreal (Canada)-area women who delivered from October 1999 to April 2004. In addition, a nested case-control analysis (207 cases, 444 controls) was used to explore potential biologic pathways by analyzing maternal plasma corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), placental histopathology, and (in a subset) maternal hair cortisol. Among the large number of stress and distress measures studied, only pregnancy-related anxiety was consistently and independently associated with spontaneous preterm birth (for values above the median, adjusted odds ratio = 1.

Vasculopathic and thrombophilic risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth.

Background: Mothers who give birth to preterm infants are at increased risk of mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke, but the biological pathways underlying these associations have not been explored.

Methods: We carried out a case-control study nested in a large (n = 5337) prospective, multicentre cohort. All cohort women had an interview, examination and venipuncture at 24-26 weeks.

Inherited thrombophilia and preeclampsia within a multicenter cohort: the Montreal Preeclampsia Study.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the association between inherited thrombophilia and preeclampsia.

Study Design: From a multicenter cohort of 5337 pregnant women, we prospectively identified 113 women who developed preeclampsia and selected 443 control subjects who did not have preeclampsia or nonproteinuric gestational hypertension. Blood samples were tested for DNA polymorphisms affecting thrombophilia (factor V Leiden mutation, prothrombin G20210A mutation, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism), homocysteine, and folate levels, and placentae underwent pathological evaluation.

Intra- and interobserver agreement and statistical clustering of placental histopathologic features relevant to preterm birth.

Objective: Many previous studies of agreement in identifying placental histopathologic lesions have been based on small sample sizes, and none has examined whether individual histologic features cluster robustly together within and between observers.

Study Design: We studied 767 placental specimens from case-control studies of preterm birth and preeclampsia nested within a prospective cohort of pregnant women recruited from 4 large Montreal maternity hospitals. The specimens were fixed, embedded, stained, and examined using a standardized protocol; a 10% random sample (n = 81) was then blindly reexamined at least 6 months later by the same pathologist and a second pathologist.

Nerve fibers in ovarian dermoid cysts and endometriomas.

No nerve fibers are found in endometriomas or in the endometrioma-containing ovaries. These findings are consistent with our previous report that no correlation exists between the presence of nerve fibers and endometriosis.

Muscle, adipose, and connective tissue variations in intrinsic musculature of the adult human tongue.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the composition and organization of lingual tissues underlying the histostructural and biomechanical functions of the adult human tongue. The small-scale structures of three intrinsic muscle regions, their principal cells, structural complexities, and differences in underlying tissue composition were compared to other skeletal muscle systems and the results discussed in relation to lingual morphology. Analysis of pixel color distributions determined the percent area concentration of each stained tissue component.