ABSTRACT
Chorioamnionitis is more than an inflammatory reaction of the placental tissues in response to organism invasion. In its clinical form, it is a threat to the maternal-fetal unit. The incidence of chorioamnionitis varies between 0.8 and 1.25 per 100 live births. A linear relationship between dissolution of fetal membranes and time selects for the presence of bacteria in amniotic fluid (infection) but not necessarily for disease in a cumulative pattern. The development of chorioamnionitis is not a simple corollary of prolonged rupture of the fetal membranes.
