الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 173 |  |  |
| | | from | 173 | | |
Abstract
Premature rupture of membranes (PROM) is defined as rupture of membranes at or after 37 weeks gestational age before onset of labour. Before 37 weeks, it is defined as preterm rupture of membranes (pPROM)
The most significant risk of ROM is intrauterine infection that increases with increasing duration of PROM, consequently, the most serious outcome of PROM is chorioamnionitis with associated adverse maternal and infant outcome related to infection.
One important element in the obstetric management is determining fetal lung maturity (FLM), since respiratory disterss syndrome is a dangerous threat to newborn with immature lungs.
Lamellar body count was first described by Dubin in 1989.
Lamellar body is a surfactant-containing lamellated structure secreted by type-2 alveolar cells in increasing quantities as gestation advances ,they are composed entirely of phospholipids , i.e. they are the storage form of the surfactant and they are extruded into the lung fluid , entering the amniotic fluid via the fetal mouth .
Lamellar bodies first appear in the cytoplasm of fetal pneumocytes from the 20th to the 24th week of gestation (Ross et al., 2002). they are continuously secreted into the fetal alveoli, and fetal breathing movements and exudation of lung fluid carry these bodies into the amniotic fluid .