PHLB09H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Therapeutic Abortion, Fetus, Congenital Disorder
Document Summary
Abortions in the ancient world were common, and there was no shortage of methods of: the hippocratic oath prescribed the use of abortifacients, a prohibition respected by many physicians but ignored by others. For three to five days, the zygote moves down the fallopian tube to the uterus, dividing continually and thus getting larger along the way. It is then called a blastocyst and implants itself in the lining of the uterus. After 8 weeks of growth, the embryo turns into a fetus. Development from fertilization to birth is nine months long, and called pregnancy: a more meaningful benchmark is viability, the development stage at around 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy when the fetus may survive outside the uterus. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy: spontaneous abortion or miscarriage: due to natural causes, ex. Induced abortion: termination through drugs or surgery: therapeutic abortion: performed to preserve the life of health of the mother.
