Roentgenographic Diagnosis and Anatomic Studies of a Quintuple Pregnancy

Quintuple pregnancy is expected about once in forty million births according to calculation by the Hellin ratio.1Foster and Carson2collected thirty-two authentic reports of quintuplets from the literature up to 1923. Since that time we have found reports of two more,3including the Dionne quintuplets. Ours makes the total of reported cases thirty-five. Aside from the fact that such multiple pregnancies are interesting because of their infrequency, a report of our case seems justified since it is apparently the first instance of a diagnosis being made prior to delivery. Further interest lies in a complete anatomic study of the fetuses, placenta and membranes. REPORT OF CASE Clinical Record.— A white woman, aged 20, was admitted to Duke Hospital, Nov. 2, 1936, because of hydramnios and irregular vaginal bleeding complicating a pregnancy of approximately five months' duration. The past history of the patient was essentially unimportant except