Maternity Hospital, Tirana, Albania; Krankenhaus Nordwest, Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Dec;42(6):691-8. doi: 10.1002/uog.12501.
To construct reference ranges of quantitative characteristics of the fetal corpus callosum.
Women referred to a tertiary center for sonographic examination were recruited to undergo a detailed fetal scan from 17 to 41 weeks of gestation. Three-dimensional (3D) sonographic volumes of normal fetal brains were acquired and analyzed offline. We obtained three different measurements of the corpus callosal length, as well as the height (/thickness) of its segments, namely the rostrum, genu, body and splenium.
Initially we recruited 604 pregnant women, of whom 138 were excluded because of various disorders/abnormalities, multiple pregnancy or gestational age < 18 weeks. Thus, included in the analysis were 466 sonographic volumes of normal fetal brains from singleton pregnancies, acquired by transabdominal ( n = 170) or transvaginal (n = 296) ultrasound. The corpus callosum was visualized as a hypoechoic structure. Reference ranges were established for the following parameters: curved corpus callosal length, inner-inner corpus callosal length, outer-outer corpus callosal length, rostrum height, genu height, body height and splenium height. We observed non-linear growth and an approximately four-fold increase in all corpus callosal lengths, a three-fold increase in rostrum height, a four-fold increase in genu height, a two-fold increase in body height and a three-fold increase in splenium height between 18 and 41 weeks. The growth patterns of rostrum and body height appeared to be similar: there was rapid development until 24 and 22 weeks of gestation, respectively, and growth slowed beyond this period. The growth patterns of genu and splenium were also similar, being characterized by progressive growth throughout gestation.
Using 3D ultrasound, we have constructed reference charts for measurements of the corpus callosum. Knowledge of the normal growth pattern may be useful for evaluation of abnormal development of the corpus callosum, and so help in the accurate diagnosis of pathologies such as hypogenesis and dysgenesis.
构建胎儿胼胝体定量特征的参考范围。
招募就诊于三级中心行超声检查的孕妇，在 17 至 41 孕周进行详细胎儿扫描。获取正常胎儿大脑的三维（3D）超声容积并离线分析。我们获得了胼胝体长度的三个不同测量值，以及其各个节段的高度（/厚度），即喙部、膝部、体部和压部。
最初我们招募了 604 名孕妇，但其中 138 名因各种异常/畸形、多胎妊娠或孕龄<18 周而被排除。因此，纳入分析的是来自单胎妊娠的 466 个正常胎儿大脑的超声容积，通过经腹（n=170）或经阴道（n=296）超声获得。胼胝体呈低回声结构。建立了以下参数的参考范围：弯曲胼胝体长度、内-内胼胝体长度、外-外胼胝体长度、喙部高度、膝部高度、体部高度和压部高度。我们观察到，在 18 至 41 孕周之间，所有胼胝体长度呈非线性增长，大约增加四倍，喙部高度增加三倍，膝部高度增加四倍，体部高度增加两倍，压部高度增加三倍。喙部和体部高度的生长模式似乎相似：分别在 24 和 22 孕周之前快速发育，之后生长速度减缓。膝部和压部的生长模式也相似，表现为整个孕期的渐进性生长。
使用 3D 超声，我们构建了胼胝体测量的参考图表。了解正常的生长模式可能有助于评估胼胝体的异常发育，并有助于准确诊断发育不良和发育不全等疾病。
