Biomechanics of Fetal Membrane Failure

Keynote Lecture KN09

S15

Biomechanics of Fetal Membrane Failure Joseph M. Mansour, Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Case Western Reserve University

Premature rupture of the fetal membranes is a major cause of preterm birth and its associated infant morbidity and mortality. Recent work has demonstrated that rupture of the fetal membranes, term or preterm, is the result of a programmed weakening process, rather than simply forces arising from uterine contractions. This presentation will review a series of investigations coupling biological and biomechanical techniques to better understand the process of fetal membrane rupture. This work has led to the identification of a zone of weakness overlying the cervix that in term, nonlabored, fetal membranes contains biochemical markers of both collagen remodeling and apoptosis. In addition, physical properties of individual fetal membrane components (amnion, chorion), the sequence of events during fetal membrane rupture, and the effects of TNF or IL-1b, in vitro, on membrane strength will be discussed.

XXI ISB Congress, Plenary Sessions, Tutorials and Keynote Lectures, Tuesday 3 July 2007

Journal of Biomechanics 40(S2)