Morphological features and length measurements of fetal lateral ventricles at 16-25 weeks of gestation by magnetic resonance imaging.

Normal growth of the lateral ventricles (LVs) was characterized three-dimensionally using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 16 human fetuses at 16-25 weeks of gestation. The LV was differentiated into four primary regions, the anterior horn, central parts, posterior horn, and inferior horn, at 16 weeks of gestation. The LV changed shape mainly by elongation and narrowing, which corresponded to the external and internal growth of the surrounding cerebrum. Six length parameters measured in the LV correlated with biparietal diameter by simple regression analysis (R(2) range, 0.56-0.93), which may be valuable for establishing a standardized prenatal protocol to assess fetal well-being and development across intrauterine periods. No correlation was found between biparietal diameter and LV volume (R(2) = 0.13).