title: Morphology and morphometry of fetal liver at 16-26 weeks of gestation by magnetic resonance imaging: Comparison with embryonic liver at Carnegie stage 23.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Normal liver growth was described morphologically and morphometrically using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of human fetuses, and compared with embryonic liver to establish a normal reference chart for clinical use.
  
  
  METHODS
  MRI images from 21 fetuses at 16-26 weeks of gestation and eight embryos at Carnegie stage (CS)23 were investigated in the present study. Using the image data, the morphology of the liver as well as its adjacent organs was extracted and reconstructed three-dimensionally. Morphometry of fetal liver growth was performed using simple regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The fundamental morphology was similar in all cases of the fetal livers examined. The liver tended to grow along the transversal axis. The four lobes were clearly recognizable in the fetal liver but not in the embryonic liver. The length of the liver along the three axes, liver volume and four lobes correlated with the bodyweight (BW). The morphogenesis of the fetal liver on the dorsal and caudal sides was affected by the growth of the abdominal organs, such as the stomach, duodenum and spleen, and retroperitoneal organs, such as the right adrenal gland and right kidney. The main blood vessels such as inferior vena cava, portal vein and umbilical vein made a groove on the surface of the liver. Morphology of the fetal liver was different from that of the embryonic liver at CS23.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present data will be useful for evaluating the development of the fetal liver and the adjacent organs that affect its morphology.
authors.affiliation: Human Health Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamabe
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Shigehito
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Chigako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Uwabe
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Togashi
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kose
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takakuwa