FETAL SACRAL LENGTH IN THE ULTRASONOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF GESTATIONAL AGE

Abstract

The exact determination of gestational age is the most important task of the obstetrician during prenatal care. With the development of obstetrical ultrasound as an adjunct to antenatal assessment, many parameters have been studied 111 attempts to assess fetal gest?t.ional age.

The morphology and the development of the fetal spme have long been studied with radiographic and histologic methods. Ossification begins in the fetal spine at approximately I 0 weeks gestation.

Recently, ultrasonography have provided the opportunity to evaluate the fetal spine in utero.

Segmentation of the spine in the start of the second trimester and subsequent interval spacing of the lumbar bodies and developmental features is related to gestational age.

The aim of the study ito compare measurement of sacral length with other parameters which detem1ine gestational age, to find-out whether sacral length can predict a much more precise estimate of gestational age.