A placental site nodule (PSN) is

benign Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

remnant from a previous

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

Presentation

They are typically asymptomatic and found incidentally.

Pathology

PSNs are

intermediate trophoblast Intermediate trophoblast is a distinct subtype of trophoblastic tissue that arises from the cytotrophoblast. It is sub-categorized by location: *Villous intermediate trophoblast: **at anchoring villi of trophoblastic column *Implantation site in ...

ic remnants.

Diagnosis

PSNs are diagnosed by examining the tissue under a

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...

, usually obtained with a

dilation and curettage Dilation (or dilatation) and curettage (D&C) refers to the dilation (widening/opening) of the cervix and surgical removal of part of the lining of the uterus and/or contents of the uterus by scraping and scooping (curettage). It is a gynecolog ...

. Typically, they consist of pink (hyaline) material using the standard stain and contain few cells. Bizarre multinucleated cells may be present; however, there is no

mitotic In cell biology, mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. Cell division by mitosis gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the total number of chromosomes is maintai ...

activity. The differential diagnosis includes (

cervical In anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings: # of or pertaining to any neck. # of or pertaining to the female cervix: i.e., the ''neck'' of the uterus. *Commonly used medical phrases involving the neck are **cervical collar **cerv ...

) squamous cell carcinoma,

gestational trophoblastic disease Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a term used for a group of pregnancy-related tumours. These tumours are rare, and they appear when cells in the womb start to proliferate uncontrollably. The cells that form gestational trophoblastic tum ...

, and exaggerated placental site.

Prognosis

PSN are benign. Once removed, they do not require any treatment and do not recur.

References

External links