Maternal blood volume in placenta of the rhesus monkey measured in vivo by positron emission tomography.

The relative volume of the intervillous space of the placenta of the rhesus monkey was measured in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET), a noninvasive tracer technique. 11CO-Hb and 68GaCl3 were both used in three experiments and 68Ga-EDTA in two. The tracers were administered intravenously as bolus doses to 6 pregnant monkeys during 7 different pregnancies. Measurements with 11CO-Hb gave a volume of 48.0% of the total placental volume. Transplacental transfer of 11CO to the fetal circulation is probably a minor problem due to the small fetal blood volume and the prolonged time before the same concentration is reached in the maternal and fetal blood. Measurements with 68GaCl3, which binds to transferrin, gave an intervillous space volume of 55.6% of the placental volume. The concentration of radioactivity in the placenta did not attain a steady state, indicating a clearance of the tracer from the blood only to a small extent. Measurements with 68Ga-EDTA displayed a volume of 60.4% of the placental volume. Transplacental transfer and the additional distribution of radioactivity to fetal and maternal extracellular spaces, including the placenta, when 68Ga-EDTA was used will make this tracer unsuitable in measurements of the blood volume of the placenta with PET.