Defectos del tubo neural en productos de abortos espontáneos

objective: to describe neural tube defects in products of conception before 20th week of gestation and to emphasize its implications and diagnostic utilitiy in the medical counseling to the couple. methods: a prospective, transectional, and descriptive study in a non probabilistic sample of aborted specimen was realized. sistematically an external morphological exam was made and the abnormal features were registered, described and photographed. setting: laboratorio de investigación "dr. carlos r. davauchelle", cátedra de histología y embriología de la universidad del zulia, maracaibo. results: a total of 55 products were evaluated, 27 (49.09 %) male, 21 (38.18 %) females, and 7(12.43 %) no identified by morphological characteristics external genitals. only 5 (9.09 %) had neural tube defects and the anomalies find were: anencephaly, spina bifida lumbosacral, iniencephaly and encephalocele. conclusion: the identification of the neural tube defects in the products of spontaneous abortion will permit accurate counseling to the parents about the recurrence risk, the particular care required in further gestations, the possibility of prenatal diagnosis and to apply prevention methods.