8/24/2023 0 Comments Normal heartbeat for 10 week fetus![]() Taking this into account, we have now prepared new dissections of normal hearts obtained from fetuses aged from 22-week gestation to the end of the 28 th week. ![]() From this stage onward, there is a phase of rapid cardiac growth, such that it doubles in size between weeks 12 and 17 and has tripled in size by the end of the 21 st week of gestation, thus facilitating the accurate identification of the various cardiac structures. At this stage of development, therefore, it remains difficult to visualize with precision the details of cardiac anatomy as seen during fetal echocardiography. Even in the 12 th week of pregnancy, the heart is no larger than 8 mm. It is not until the 12 th week, however, that the heart is located in its normal position in the thorax, and the atrioventricular (AV) and arterial valves are sufficiently developed to produce a miniature version of the postnatal heart. In this regard, the complex temporal and morphological changes that lead to the formation of the heart, with effective completion of septation, are completed by the 8 th week of pregnancy. As in any complex task, it was immediately evident that such knowledge of the normal arrangement was best appreciated if approached in an orderly and systematic fashion. Indeed, one of the first investigations undertaken by those who were developing the field of fetal echocardiography was to make correlations between the anatomy of the normal fetal heart and the images obtained at that time. It is axiomatic that recognition of the abnormal requires a thorough knowledge of the normal. The anatomic-echocardiographic correlations additionally provide a valuable resource for both the understanding and teaching of fetal echocardiography. Knowledge of these features should now permit diagnosis of most congenital cardiac malformations. We have been able to show that the views now obtained using current technology reveal many details of anatomy not always appreciated at earlier times. We also interrogated the anatomic sections so as to clarify ongoing controversies regarding detailed features of the normal cardiac anatomy. We then correlated the obtained anatomic images with the corresponding ultrasonic images used in the standard fetal screening scan. The fetuses ranged in gestational age from between 20 and 28 weeks. This was made possible by our dissection of 10 fetal hearts, followed by production of addition histological sections that mimic the standard ultrasound views. So as to match the advances made in imaging, we have now revisited our understanding of normal cardiac anatomy in the mid-gestational fetus. ![]() The current machines used for imaging, however, now make it possible potentially to recognize features not appreciated at the start of the specialty. From the inception of fetal echocardiographic screening, the importance of basic knowledge of cardiac anatomy has been well recognized. Without such knowledge, it is difficult, if not impossible, to recognize the multiple facets of congenital cardiac disease. The rapid changes that have taken place in recent years in relation to techniques used to image the fetal heart have emphasized the need to have a detailed knowledge ofnormal cardiac anatomy.
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