A prospective, cytogenetic study of recurrent abortion.

Many workers have now recorded a high inci- dence of chromosomal abnormalities in sponta- neously aborted foetuses, particularly in those aborted in the first trimester of pregnancy and in those which are macroscopically abnormal. Kerr and Rashad (1966) found an incidence of 21% of chromosomal abnormalities in 400 specimens re- corded in the world literature. A higher incidence of abnormalities may be found in series confined to first trimester abortions, ranging from 33% (Kerr and Rashad, 1966) to over 60% The common abnormali- ties of karyotype are 45,X, various trisomies, and triploidy or tetraploidy. Occasional autosomal monosomies have been reported in early specimens (Inhorn, Therman, and Patau, 1964; Kelly et al., 1965; Jacobson and Barter, 1967; Waxman, Arakaki, and Smith, 1967).