Figure 1.

Morphometrics and histopathological study of the effects of vitamin D on human placenta. Hematoxylin and eosin stained sections of placental chorionic villi. (A) A 80 μm × 80 μm grid was overlain on photomicrographs for analysis of villous types. (B) A 20 μm × 20 μm grid was overlain for analysis of capillaries, due to the lesser frequency of encountering capillaries by test points or lines with grid in A. (C) Villous structure at the basal plate shows persistent trophoblastic multinucleated giant cells, from a 39 weeks’ gestation placenta with third-trimester 25(OH)D of 63.7 ng/mL (>32 ng/mL, the sufficiency group). 100×. Inset: Trophoblastic multinucleated giant cells, 400×.