Careful evaluation of the placenta can often give much insight into disorders of pregnancy in the mother and fetus. The techniques of gross placental examination are not difficult, but a systematic approach is necessary to be complete. Color Atlas of Gross Placental Pathology, Second Edition is designed to aid in the careful and thorough gross examination of the placenta by providing an illustrated manual of examination that includes normal variations, abnormal findings, as well as unusual pathology.

..".this atlas contains a wealth of important information for pathologists...

This book had its beginning in 1967 when Shirley G. Driscoll and Kurt Benirschke wrote in English the volume on placental pathology for the Henke-Lubarsch, the noted German Handbook of Pathology.  There seemed to be a need for wider distribution of the text and it was reprinted by Springer Verlag, New York, essentially the only book available devoted just to the human placenta.   Dr. Benirschke authored 5 subsequent editions in collaboration with Peter Kaufmann, Rebecca Baergen and Graham Burton in 1990 (2nd edition), 1995 (3rd edition), 2000 (4th edition), 2006 (5th edition) and 2012 (6th...