title: Corroboration of normal and abnormal fetal cerebral lamination on postmortem MR imaging with postmortem examination.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The presence of normal fetal cerebral lamination of the germinal matrix, intermediate zone, subplate layer, and cortex can be used as a marker of normal fetal cerebral development. Our aim was to compare postmortem MR imaging assessment of normal and abnormal fetal cerebral lamination on T1- and T2-weighted images with histopathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five formalin-fixed brains from postmortem fetuses, ranging from 16 to 30 weeks' gestational age, mean of 23 weeks, underwent T1- and T2- weighted MR imaging and subsequent sectioning and histologic examination. The cerebral lamination was graded as normal or abnormal on T1- and T2-weighted imaging and compared with postmortem findings. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of T1 and T2 assessment of cerebral lamination were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-six fetuses had abnormal and 29 had normal cerebral lamination on histology. On T1, the overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of evaluating cerebral lamination were 96.15%(CI, 78.42%-99.80%), 89.66%(CI, 71.50%-97.29%), 89.29%(CI, 70.63%-97.19%), and 96.29%(CI, 79.11%-99.80%), respectively. On T2, the overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of evaluating cerebral lamination were 73.08%(CI, 51.95%-87.65%), 96.55%(CI, 80.37%-99.82%), 95.00%(CI, 73.06%-99.74%), and 80.00%(CI, 62.54%-90.94%), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postmortem MR imaging has high sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values in assessing fetal cerebral lamination compared with histology. T1-weighted imaging has a higher sensitivity and negative predictive value, while T2-weighted imaging has a higher specificity and positive predictive value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Elysa.Widjaja@sickkids.ca
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Widjaja
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geibprasert
authors.forename: S Zarei
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Mahmoodabadi
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shannon
mesh_terms: D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology*; D003933:Diagnosis; D005313:Fetal Death; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity