title: Three-dimensional sonographic volume measurement of the fetal spleen.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the growth of the fetal spleen in normal pregnancies, using three-dimensional ultrasound.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three-dimensional sonographic examinations were performed on 14 appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses. Fetal splenic volume was measured every 2-3 weeks after 20 weeks of gestational age until delivery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Curvilinear relationships were found between the gestational age and splenic volume (R(2) = 80.2%, P < 0.0001), and normal ranges of splenic volume measurements for estimating the growth of the fetal spleen during normal pregnancy were generated. We found that the splenic volume calculation based on the equation for the volume of the ellipsoid by conventional two-dimensional ultrasound in previous investigations is about twice as large as that using three-dimensional ultrasound in our study, whereas the present data described in this study is quite comparable with previous data from an autopsy series.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the standard curve for the fetal splenic volume using three-dimensional ultrasound provides a superior means for evaluating the normal splenic growth in the fetus and for identifying splenic abnormalities in utero. However, the data and its interpretation in our study should be taken with some degree of caution because of the small number of subjects studied. Further studies involving a larger sample size would be needed to confirm these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Kagawa University School of Medicine, Kagawa, Japan. toshi28@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuno
authors.forename: Shu-Yan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Inubashiri
authors.forename: Uiko
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hanaoka
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanenishi
authors.forename: Chizu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yanagihara
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013154:Spleen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*