hydatid mole

mole a fleshy mass or tumor formed in the uterus by the degeneration or abnormal development of a zygote.

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hydatid mole , hydatidiform mole an abnormal pregnancy characterized by placental abnormality involving swollen chorionic villi, which form a large, grapelike mass of vesicles, by trophoblastic hyperplasia, and by loss of fetal blood vessels in the villi. It is complete when all villi are swollen and fetal tissues are absent, and partial when only some villi are swollen and fetal tissues are present. Complete moles usually possess only paternal chromosomes; partial moles are usually triploid and possess both maternal and paternal chromosomes.

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hydatid mole,

an intrauterine neoplastic mass of grapelike enlarged chorionic villi that occurs in approximately 1 in 1500 pregnancies in the United States and eight times more frequently in some Asian countries. Molar pregnancies are more common in older and younger women than in those between 20 and 40 years of age. The cause of the degenerative disorder is not known. It may be the result of a primary ovular defect, an intrauterine abnormality, or a nutritional deficiency. Characteristic signs are extreme nausea, uterine bleeding, anemia, hyperthyroidism, an unusually large uterus for the duration of pregnancy, absence of fetal heart sounds, edema, and high blood pressure. Diagnostic measures include ultrasonography, amniography, and measurement of chorionic gonadotropin level in the blood. In most cases the mole is discovered when abortion is threatened or in progress. Oxytocin may be used to stimulate evacuation of a mole that is not spontaneously aborted, and curettage is usually performed several days later to be certain that no molar tissue remains in the uterus. It is important that pregnancy be avoided for at least 1 year and that assays for chorionic gonadotropin be performed to monitor for the risk of development of gestational trophoblastic disease. Also called hydatidiform mole, vesicular mole. See also trophoblastic cancer.

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hydatid mole

Hydatidiform mole, see there