Chorioamnionitis: perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Chorioamnionitis is both a clinical and a histopathologic diagnosis. The latter may be clinically silent, but it commonly accompanies reproductive casualty and premature birth. Satisfactory delineation of its pathogenesis is elusive. Detailed histologic study indicates that endometrial inflammation usually precedes that of the membranes. Evidence is accumulated that Ureaplasma urealyticum is a major participant in this sequence and its grave clinical complications.