The Pathogenesis of Amniotic-Fluid Embolism

Abstract

IN 1941 Steiner and Lushbaugh¹ described the syndrome of amniotic-fluid embolism, which they believed to be the major cause of death during labor. The clinical picture that they observed in 8 patients included dyspnea, shock, cyanosis and pulmonary edema. Amniotic débris was found in the lungs of these patients at autopsy, and the authors believed that embolic blockage of the pulmonary arterioles and capillaries was the immediate cause of death. The profound shock that was an early and prominent feature of this condition was thought to be anaphylactoid owing to entrance of foreign protein material into the maternal circulation. However, . . .