Heterotopic Adipose Tissue in the Placental Parenchyma: Case Report

Objective. Reports of heterotopic tissue in the placenta are few and mainly include liver and adrenal cells. We report on adipose tissue found in the placenta. Case report. We present the case of a microscopic finding in a 25-year-old’s placenta who suffered from hypertensive disorder in pregnancy. During routine microscopic study, we observed a heterotopic, benign, circumscribed and intervillous nodule of adipose tissue. Conclusion. To our knowledge, there is no other reported case of adipocytes among chorionic villi. Why foreign tissues show up in the placenta remains unknown; however, several new theories offer explanations.