Magnetic resonance imaging of the fetus

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 131 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-725X
• DOI: 10.1016/0730-725x(85)90291-7

✦ Synopsis

normal fetal development and the development of the fetus of the diabetic mother.

Particular attention was paid to the assessment of fetal size, fetal liver, brain and lung and also to the measurement of fetal subcutaneous fat thickness from the buttock region.

Prior to 26 weeks of gestation, fetal movement and the relatively large amount of amniotic fluid contributed to poor detail in the images.

After 68 weeks fetal movement was minimised by imaging the patients lying on their side rather than supine , a position that was adopted following the initial sagittal section.

MR-T images of the fetus provided accurate fetal measurements of diameter, area and circumference of head, chest and abdomen for dating fetal weight.

When serial examinations were performed close correlation between serial uterine size and birth weight was found.

The examination of the fetal brain showed that myelination of the basal ganglia could be identified as early as 34 weeks and serial measurements of fetal liver Tl showed a steady decline throughout gestation.

In diabetic patients the measurement of the fetal subcutaneous fat thickness correlated well with fetal birth weight.

Fetal macrosomia and intra-uterine growth retardation were similarly easily identified.