MICROCHIMERISM
Patient
- The New York Times
- Art direction: Cathy Gilmore-Barnes
Diagnosis
Fetal microchimerism is a process where male fetus’s shed Y chromosome cells that escape the mother’s uterus and spread throughout her body. It’s common to find these fetal cells in the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and breasts. As they disperse, the cells may influence the mother’s physiology, potentially adapting her body to benefit the developing child.
