title: Ultrasonic assessment of fetal head and body sizes in relation to normal and retarded fetal growth.
abstract: Data on consecutive ultrasonic measurements of fetal biparietal diameter (B.P.D.) and fetal chest area in 303 normal and 84 small-for-dates fetuses are presented. Duration of pregnancy varied from 24 to 41 weeks. A normal curve of the fetal B.P.D., chest area, and head-to-chest ratio was constructed. At 24 weeks mean fetal B.P.D. was 6.29 cm., mean fetal chest area was 24.9 sq. cm., and mean head-to-chest ratio was 1.59. At 41 weeks the mean values were 9.81 cm., 92.4 sq. cm., and 1.05, respectively. In the group of small-for-dates fetuses, a normal head-to-chest ratio was almost always associated with early onset of fetal growth retardation whereas in the majority of fetuses with increased head-to-chest ratios, growth retardation appeared to have started only in the third trimester of pregnancy.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D006128:Growth; D006257:Head / Q000196:embryology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D013909:Thorax / Q000196:embryology; D014463:Ultrasonography