[Can the cytological examination of the amniotic fluid be considered as a test of the fetal maturity? (author's transl)].

The progress in the biological evaluation of the fetal maturity takes into account the value of the cytological examination of the amniotic fluid. The technique is quite easy but delicate and implies, as well as any histochemical method, a quality control; a rather high percentage of errors is linked to the neglection of these simples advices. In most cases, the level of the oringe cells is related to the maturity of the fetus. The fetal epidermic origin of these cells, discussed for a long time, has been recently demonstrated by electron microscopy; it is confirmed that the increase of the level of the oringe cells corresponds to the thickening of the fetus' teguments, according to the age of the pregnancy; but it is not possible to establish a rigourous parallelism between the real age of the fetus and his aptitude to survive in case of premature delivery, which is mostly depending upon the maturity of his renal and pulmonary functions. The cytologic examination of the amniotic fluid should be interpreted in comparison with the others biological tests of evaluation of the fetal maturity.