The water and nitrogen composition of the placenta in anemic women.

A study was conducted to determine the water and nitrogen content of the placentae from anemic and nonanemic Nigerian women. The mean water content values were 84.9% and 85.3%, respectively, and this difference was not statistically significant. Placental nitrogen values were higher in anemic women than they were in nonanemic women, but the difference was not statistically significant. The results of this study indicate that placental hypertrophy which is associated with anemia is not due to water retention by the placenta.