The word itself often evokes a shiver. For many, an conjures images of cold, sterile rooms, the harsh glare of fluorescent lights, and the finality of a metal table. When the subject is a woman , the procedure carries an additional weight—a complex tapestry of medical necessity, emotional fragility, forensic urgency, and cultural sensitivity.

and fetal epithelial squames trapped within the lumen of the pulmonary small vessels PMC, Cureus.