title: Quantitative anatomy of the growing clavicle in the human fetus: CT, digital image analysis, and statistical study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Knowledge of dimensions of fetal long bones is useful in both the assessment of fetal growth and early detection of inherited defects. Measurements of the fetal clavicle may facilitate detection of numerous defects, e.g., cleidocranial dysplasia, Holt-Oram syndrome, Goltz syndrome, and Melnick-Needles syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using the methods of CT, digital image analysis, and statistics, the size of the growing clavicle in 42 spontaneously aborted human fetuses (21 males and 21 females) at ages of 18-30 weeks was studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Without any male-female and right-left significant differences, the best fit growth models for the growing clavicle with relation to age in weeks were as follows: y = -54.439 + 24.673 × ln(age) ± 0.237 (R2= 0.86) for length, y = -12.042 + 4.906 × ln(age) ± 0.362 (R2= 0.82) for width of acromial end, y = -4.210 + 2.028 × ln(age) ± 0.177 (R2= 0.77) for width of central part, y = -4.687 + 2.364 × ln(age) ± 0.242 (R2= 0.70) for width of sternal end, y = -51.078 + 4.174 × ln(age) ± 6.943 (R2= 0.82) for cross-sectional area, and y = -766.948 + 281.774 × ln(age) ± 19.610 (R2= 0.84) for volume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With no sex and laterality differences, the clavicle grows logarithmically with respect to its length, width, and volume, and linearly with respect to its projection surface area. The obtained morphometric data of the growing clavicle are considered normative for their respective weeks of gestation and may be of relevance in the diagnosis of congenital defects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiśniewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baumgart
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grzonkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Positron Emission Tomography and Molecular Imaging, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, The Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, 85-821, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Małkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Flisiński
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dombek
authors.affiliation: Department of Normal Anatomy, The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 1 Łukasiewicza Street, Bydgoszcz, 85-821, Poland. kizanat@cm.umk.pl.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szpinda
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous; D002102:Cadaver; D002968:Clavicle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Clavicle; Digital image analysis; Growth dynamics; Human fetus; Regression analysis; Size