Superficial hemosiderosis in a second trimester fetus: Pathological and clinical manifestations

Prenatal brain hemorrhages are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in neonates. They appear predominantly as bleeding into periventricular germinal matrix with subsequent hemorrhages into lateral ventricles and subarachnoid space. Other patterns of brain hemorrhage are not widely documented in second trimester fetuses. We report a case of hemorrhage presenting as extensive hemosiderin deposits in leptomeninges and adjacent brain parenchyma, as observed in superficial hemosiderosis. The lesion was associated with substantial tissue damage. Clinically, it was diagnosed during the second half of second trimester by successive ultrasound examinations. It differs from germinal matrix hemorrhage and other forms of hemorrhage in origin, pathogenesis, morphology, and probably in clinical manifestations.