Conventional tissue culturing and karyotyping of spontaneous abortions has limitations such as culture failure, external contamination and selective growth of maternal cells. Molecular cytogenetic techniques such as FISH, QF‐PCR, and CGH allow diagnosis on uncultured cells but are also limited as to the spectrum of cytogenetic abnormalities detected. We describe the cytogenetic findings in a series of 116 first trimester arrested pregnancies, obtained through chorionic villi sampling (CVS) and semi‐direct analysis that avoids some of the long‐culture pitfalls such as maternal contamination, and compare our results with those that would have been obtained theoretically using molecular cytogenetic techniques. Samples were obtained by transcervical CVS from women with a diagnosis of missed abortion, most of them referred for cytogenetic prenatal diagnosis. Cytogenetic analysis was performed using semi‐direct technique. A karyotype was obtained in 103 cases. Eighty‐two abnormal karyotypes were found (80%), including 12 triploidies, 10 monosomies, 61 trisomies, and 9 structural abnormalities; a double abnormality being present in 10 cases. Between 10% and 50% of our abnormal results would have been missed using the most common molecular cytogenetic techniques. Semi‐direct analysis of CVS may still be considered as a comprehensive, reasonably rapid, cost‐effective and reliable method for detecting the broadest spectrum of chromosome abnormalities in missed abortions. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.