Biomaterial Database

Intrauterine growth retardation and fetal transverse cerebellar diameter. 1994

R J Snijders, and R H De Courcy-Wheeler, and K H Nicolaides

Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, Denmark Hill, London, U.K.

In 103 small-for-gestational age (SGA) fetuses, the transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD), abdominal circumference (AC), head circumference (HC), and femur length (FL) were measured and their ratios calculated. In addition, umbilical venous blood samples were obtained by cordocentesis for measurements of fetal blood pH and erythroblast count. Compared with the AC, HC, and FL, the TCD was relatively mildly reduced. However, in the 28 fetuses with TCD > 2 SDs (standard deviations) below the normal mean, the degrees of growth retardation, acidaemia, and erythroblastosis were more severe, and the incidence of perinatal death was higher than in the group with a normal sized TCD. Although in the group with TCD > 2 SDs below the normal mean the TCD/AC ratio was increased, in the most severely growth-retarded fetuses this ratio was usually within the normal range. Thus, in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), cerebellar size is reduced in proportion to the severity of the disease and therefore the TCD cannot be used to obtain reliable information on the gestational age of small fetuses and the TCD/AC ratio does not provide reliable information as to whether or not fetuses are growth-retarded.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010927	Placental Insufficiency	Failure of the PLACENTA to deliver an adequate supply of nutrients and OXYGEN to the FETUS.	Insufficiency, Placental
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D002508	Cephalometry	The measurement of the dimensions of the HEAD.	Craniometry
D002531	Cerebellum	The part of brain that lies behind the BRAIN STEM in the posterior base of skull (CRANIAL FOSSA, POSTERIOR). It is also known as the "little brain" with convolutions similar to those of CEREBRAL CORTEX, inner white matter, and deep cerebellar nuclei. Its function is to coordinate voluntary movements, maintain balance, and learn motor skills.	Cerebella,Corpus Cerebelli,Parencephalon,Cerebellums,Parencephalons
D005260	Female		Females
D005269	Femur	The longest and largest bone of the skeleton, it is situated between the hip and the knee.	Trochanter,Greater Trochanter,Lesser Trochanter,Femurs,Greater Trochanters,Lesser Trochanters,Trochanter, Greater,Trochanter, Lesser,Trochanters,Trochanters, Greater,Trochanters, Lesser
D005317	Fetal Growth Retardation	Failure of a FETUS to attain expected GROWTH.	Growth Retardation, Intrauterine,Intrauterine Growth Retardation,Fetal Growth Restriction,Intrauterine Growth Restriction
D005865	Gestational Age	The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated from the onset of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization. It is also estimated to begin from fertilization, estrus, coitus, or artificial insemination.	Embryologic Age,Fetal Maturity, Chronologic,Chronologic Fetal Maturity,Fetal Age,Maturity, Chronologic Fetal,Age, Embryologic,Age, Fetal,Age, Gestational,Ages, Embryologic,Ages, Fetal,Ages, Gestational,Embryologic Ages,Fetal Ages,Gestational Ages
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000005	Abdomen	That portion of the body that lies between the THORAX and the PELVIS.	Abdomens