Prenatal measurement of the fetal cerebellum and cisterna cerebellomedullaris by ultrasound |
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| Authors: | Mr Phillip A Smith Dawn Johansson Christina Tzannatos Stuart Campbell |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Canada;2. Department of Morbid Anatomy, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London SE5 8RX, U.K.;3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RX, U.K. |
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| Abstract: | The fetal cerebellum can be visualized with ultrasound throughout the second trimester. We describe a technique for measuring the transverse and anteroposterior cerebellar diameters and the measurement of the cisterna magna in the same plane between 14 and 32 weeks gestation. Nomograms for these measurements against gestational age showed good correlation, and narrow confidence limits for the transverse cerebellar diameter. The transverse cerebellar diameter was also measured directly in 79 fetuses after mid-trimester abortion and the measurements obtained were compared with the ultrasound TCD nomogram. Good correlation, was obtained between the post mortem measurements and the ultrasound TCD nomogram. Routine use of these measurements and nomograms should prove valuable in the diagnosis of congenital abnormality of the posterior fossa and may also be of use in assessing the effect of severe intrauterine growth retardation and other insults on cerebellar growth and development. The narrow confidence limits obtained with the TCD nomogram should enable it to be used with confidence in clinical practice. |
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| Keywords: | Fetal cerebellar growth Ultrasound |
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