Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Few investigators have studied the lateral ventricle formation related to the development of the calcarine sulcus. Our purpose was to establish the relationship between the lateral ventricles and the calcarine sulcus in the second and third trimesters.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fetal brain MR imaging (3T and 7T) was performed in 84 fetuses at 14–35 gestational weeks. The lateral ventricles and calcarine sulcus were 3D-reconstructed, and quantitative measurements were obtained.
RESULTS: The lateral ventricle volume decreases slowly at 14–23 gestational weeks and then increases rapidly at 24–35 gestational weeks. The depth and length of the calcarine sulcus develop with the increase in gestational weeks, leading to be squeezed in the lateral ventricle posterior horn. A linear correlation occurs between the calcarine sulcus length and posterior horn length: Right-length = 2.4204 (LPH) − 27.5706, Left-length = 2.0939 (LPH) − 23.4099.
CONCLUSIONS: The variation of lateral ventricle volume evolved from a slow to rapid increase at 14–35 gestational weeks. The shrinkage in the lateral ventricle posterior horn is accompanied by the development of the calcarine sulcus, resulting in a better linear correlation between the calcarine sulcus length and the posterior horn length. The present results are valuable in elucidating the evolution of lateral ventricle development and provide clues for the diagnosis of lateral ventricle abnormalities in the prenatal examination.
ABBREVIATIONS:
- LAPP
- width between the anterior and posterior parts
- LBIH
- width between the bilateral inferior horns
- LCI
- length between the central part and inferior horn
- LHCP
- intraventricular height at the central part
- LPH
- length of the posterior horn
- LTAP
- total anteroposterior length
Footnotes
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31771328, 31571237).
- © 2019 by American Journal of Neuroradiology
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