Ultrasonographic identification and measurement of the human fetal adrenal gland in utero.

Ultrasonographic studies on the fetal adrenal gland were performed in utero on 100 fetuses 22-42 weeks of gestation. The correlations of the area of fetal adrenal gland (FAGA) with gestational age (r = 0.95, P less than 0.001) were high. The circumference of the fetal adrenal gland (FAGC) correlated well with the gestational age (r = 0.86, P less than 0.001) as did the length of this gland (FAGL) (r = 0.70, P less than 0.001). Ultrasonographic identification and measurement of the fetal adrenal gland in utero is thus an useful indicator to assess the growth and maturation of the fetal adrenal gland, and for detecting of congenital adrenal hyperplasia and hypoplasia.