Congenital hydrocephalus secondary to intra-uterine germinal matrix/intraventricular haemorrhage.

An infant with hydrocephalus which had been diagnosed at birth died at one month of age. Subsequent neuropathological studies demonstrated old germinal matrix haemorrhage and complete occlusion of the aqueduct of Sylvius by fibroglial tissue, both of which appeared to be older than four weeks, indicating that they had occurred in utero. These observations are consistent with the occurrence of intra-uterine intraventricular haemorrhage secondary to haemorrhage of the subependymal germinal matrix, leading to occlusion of the aqueduct of Sylvius and hydrocephalus prior to birth.