A Practical Approach to the Fetal CNS - Part 2
Brief Review of Anatomy
Brief Review of Anatomy
We are big proponents of learning normal anatomy. The more you know about the anatomy of the structures that you are interrogating in any part of the body, the better off you will always be!
Take Home Points
what changes do we see between 14 and 40 weeks in the brain
- Posterior fossa structures have an adult configuration by the 2nd trimester
- The main changes we see are due to growth of the cerebral hemispheres
- Initially, the lateral fissure is the only sulcation identified
- This then develops into the Sylvian fissure complex
Ventricular morphology
- Initially the frontal horn is approximately the same size as the body of the lateral ventricle
- Note: You should not see choroid in the frontal horn. (If you see an echogenic focus, think about hemorrhage)
- From 14-24 weeks
- We see the frontal horns becoming thinner due primarily to growth of the caudate nucleus
- Distinct occipital and temporal horns develop
- However, the ventricular atrium remains essentially stable in size