[Epiphyseal points of the fetal knee. The impact of growth disorders on bone maturation].

The radiological appearance of bone maturity can be used as a criterion for fetal maturity. This examination with limited irradiation to the fetus is an alternative to amniocentesis. The practice of the latter is not without risk. The authors carried out 194 examinations of the contents of the uterus to look at the epiphyses of the knee between the 34th and 40th week of amenorrhoea. The found three groups: 1) those with normal development; 2) those with delayed development and 3) those with more advanced development. They did not find significant correlation between small-for-dates growth and bony maturity. On the other hand, where there was increased growth of the fetus in cases where maternal diabetes was excluded there was demonstrated that bony maturity accelerated with the presence of Béclard's point from the 34th week onwards. With such great variation in the dates of the appearance of points of ossification the presence of epiphyseal points in the knee cannot be taken as a criterion to establish fetal maturity nor the minimum duration of the pregnancy.