Debate: The placenta is the villain or victim in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. FOR: The placenta is the villain in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

In keeping with legal precedent when prosecuting a case, quoting a pithy Latin phrase can often be a winning gambit.Simply put, therefore, in arraigning the placenta as culpable in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, sine qua non surely does the trick, for without a placenta, there is no preeclampsia.While a fetus or a gravid uterus is usually sufficient for an occurrence of preeclampsia, neither is in fact necessary.Exhibit one, a hydatidiform mole, bears witness to the former contention, and exhibit two, an abdominal pregnancy, to the latter (Redman.N Engl J Med 1990; 323: 478 -480).It is the placenta that is caught red-handed as the culprit.