Amniotic Fluid

Amniotic Fluid (amniotic waters), the fluid located in the amniotic sac (amniotic). Amniotic fluid occurs only in higher vertebrate animals (reptiles, birds, mammals, and humans), known under the name Amniota, in contrast to another group of vertebrates (fish, amphibians) that lack an amnion and fluid and are called Anamnia. Already in the works of Empedocles, Hippocrates, Galen, and others, there are descriptions and various quite contradictory hypotheses about the origin and significance of amniotic fluid. In later works [Vesalius, Mauriceau (16th century), Ambodik (1785), and others], there are also only unfounded speculations. Only from the mid-19th century do the first scientific and experimental studies of amniotic fluid appear. Amniotic fluid represents a slippery watery liquid, sometimes transparent, sometimes cloudy, like soapy, with an admixture of flakes. The color depends on the greater or lesser amount of impurities and varies from amber-yellow to brownish-greenish. The sediment of centrifuged amniotic fluid in a normal full-term pregnancy consists of fetal epidermal cells, cle