On the pattern of reticular fibers in the intracranial arteries of mature newborn with and without intracranial hemorrhage.

A detailed histological study was carried out on the major intracranial arteries of 20 mature newborn. A substantial reduction of the reticular fiber content within the wall of the cerebral arteries was observed in all samples originating from infants with intracranial hemorrhage. No other differences occurred when comparisons were made using the conventional staining methods on the vessels from the ten newborn with hemorrhage and the ten others without bleeding. These data indicate that the structural deficiency of the brain vasculature provides the morphological basis for the development of intracranial hemorrhages in the term newborn.