Cranial base growth and morphology in second-trimester normal human fetuses and fetuses with cleft lip.
OBJECTIVE
The present radiographic study describes the size and shape of the cranial base from the sagittal aspect for a sample of 77 second-trimester "normal" control fetuses (n = 61) and fetuses (n = 16) exhibiting isolated, unilateral clefts of the lip (CL), ranging in fertilization age from 10 to 22 weeks.


METHODS
Fetuses were placed in a cephalostat, and standardized, lateral head radiographs were taken. The radiographs were traced, and 15 cephalometric landmarks were identified and digitized for analysis. Growth curves for cranial base lengths, angles, and areas were compared between control and CL groups. Also, cranial base triangles were constructed and shape comparisons were made using tensor biometric analysis.


RESULTS
No significant differences (p >.05) in regression line slopes were noted for any comparisons between the control and CL samples. Tensor biometric analysis also revealed no significant differences in the shapes of various cranial base triangles between the control and CL samples.


CONCLUSIONS
This report presents second-trimester baseline growth curves for various cranial base components in CL human fetal specimens, and these data suggest that CL fetuses may also be used as an appropriate control sample for prenatal growth comparison studies of cleft lip and palate and cleft palate.
Sherwood
T F
TF
Department of Orthodontics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mooney
M P
MP
Sciote
J J
JJ
Smith
T D
TD
Cooper
G M
GM
Siegel
M I
MI
D001699:Biometry; D001835:Body Weight; D002102:Cadaver; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology; D003393:Cranial Sutures / Q000196:embryology; D018568:Crown-Rump Length; D005004:Ethmoid Bone / Q000196:embryology; D005333:Fetus; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D009295:Nasal Bone / Q000196:embryology; D009777:Occipital Bone / Q000196:embryology; D011859:Radiography; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012658:Sella Turcica / Q000196:embryology; D019291:Skull Base / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology*; D013100:Sphenoid Bone / Q000196:embryology; D013223:Statistics as Topic