Sonar biparietal diameter growth standards in the rhesus monkey.

Serial sonar fetal cephalometry was performed on 67 pregnant monkeys (Macaca ulatta) with known breeding dates. A normal biparietal diameter (BPD) growth curve was constructed along four percentile divisions; namely, the 10th to the 24th, 25th to the 49th, 50th to the 74th, and the 75th to the 90th. It is shown that under normal conditions fetuses initially positioned in any one of these divisions will continue to grow within the confines of that same percentile range. This biologic phenomenon has not been previously reported. It is significant because it leads to a more precise separation of normal vs. suboptimal intrauterine growth.