title: Prenatal Imaging of the Gastrointestinal Tract with Postnatal Imaging Correlation.
abstract: Prenatal detection of a wide variety of anomalies and masses of the gastrointestinal tract is now possible. Prenatal imaging with ultrasonography and in selected cases magnetic resonance imaging provides invaluable information to the referring obstetrician, the maternal fetal medicine specialist, the neonatologist and pediatrician who will care for the child after birth, the surgeons and pediatric specialists who will repair or manage a prenatally detected anomaly, and of course to the parents, allowing them to prepare psychologically and financially for the specific interventions that may be needed for their child. Additional screening for associated anomalies can take place, route of delivery can be decided, and arrangements for delivery in an appropriate setting can be made. Prenatal detection also allows for consideration for pregnancy termination. This article will give a broad overview of anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract that can be detected prenatally and their imaging appearance postnatally.
authors.affiliation: *Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology and Fetal Medicine, Children's National Medical Center; †George Washington University, Washington, DC; and ‡Pediatric Radiology Department, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Anna Nussbaum
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Blask
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fagen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*