Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about VASA Previa. And you can find written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com

slash Vazer Previa or in the antinatal care section of the zero to finals, obstetrics and gynecology book.

So let's get straight into it.

Vazaprevia is a condition where the fetal vessels are within the fetal membranes,

which are the choreoamniotic membranes,

and they travel across the internal cervical os.

The fetal membranes surround the amniotic cavity and the developing fetus.

The fetal vessels consist of the two unbilical arteries and the single umbilical vein. We're going to discuss all of

this in more detail shortly. Vaza translates from Latin as vessel. Pravia translates from Latin as

going before. Vazaprevia is when the vessels are placed over the internal cervical os,

going before the fetus.

Let's discuss in more detail about the pathophysiology.

Under normal circumstances, the umbilical cord containing the fetal vessels,

the umbilical arteries and the umbilical vein, inserts directly into the placenta. The umbilical cord contains

Wharton's jelly. Warton's jelly is a layer of soft connective tissue that surrounds the blood

vessels in the umbilical cord

offering them protection there are two instances where the fetal vessels can be exposed

outside the protection of the umbilical cord or the placenta a velamentus umbilical cord is where the umbilical cord inserts into the coriomniotic membranes

and the fetal vessels travel unprotected through the membranes before joining the placenta.

The other instance is where an accessory lobe of the placenta, also known as a succenturate lobe,

is connected by fetal vessels that travel through the corioamniotic membranes between the placental lobes without being protected.

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