title: Jugular venous blood flow velocity waveforms in human fetuses between 20 and 42 weeks of pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The goal of the study was to measure the blood flow parameters of the fetal internal jugular vein during the second half of normal pregnancy using Doppler ultrasound.
  
  
  METHODS
  Jugular blood flow was analyzed in 95 normal singleton fetuses between 20 and 42 weeks gestation. Color and pulsed Doppler ultrasound was used to obtain jugular venous waveforms at the level of the mid-neck. Peak velocities, ratios of velocities, and time-averaged maximum velocities were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Jugular venous waveforms in healthy fetuses consist of three phases--the first forward peak occurs during ventricle systole; the second forward peak occurs during early diastole and the third peak occurs during atrial contraction. Forty-eight percent of the fetuses demonstrated absent flow during atrial contraction; 32% of fetuses demonstrated forward flow during atrial contraction and finally 20% of fetuses demonstrated flow reversal during atrial contraction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reported jugular venous profile may serve as a foundation for future studies of jugular blood flow in high risk fetuses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, North Shore University Hospital, Cornell University Medical College, Manhasset, New York, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Petrikovsky
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pellerito
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001775:Blood Circulation; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007601:Jugular Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D018617:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Pulsed; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal