Screening for aneuploidy in the first trimester by assessment of blood flow in the ductus venosus.

Objective: To assess the role of ductus venosus Doppler assessment in screening for fetal aneuploidy in pregnancies at 11-14 weeks of gestation.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: A tertiary referral fetal medicine unit.

Improving the effectiveness of routine prenatal screening for major congenital heart defects.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of adding outlet views to the four chamber view in routine prenatal ultrasound screening for major congenital heart defects (CHD) as performed by trained sonographers, and to compare the procedure with current practice.

Design And Setting: Prospective observational study at a London teaching hospital.

Participants And Methods: 9277 women booked at a single institution (80% had first trimester nuchal translucency measurement) due to have routine fetal cardiac screening using the four chamber and outflow tract views at > 18 weeks of gestation.

The human ductus venosus between 13 and 17 weeks of gestation: histological and morphometric studies.

Background: Doppler studies of the ductus venosus are increasingly being integrated in the assessment of fetal well-being. Establishing the precise morphology and structure of the ductus venosus would provide a better understanding of Doppler findings during fetal adaptation. There is conflicting evidence from previous studies about the structure of the ductus venosus, especially with regard to the presence of a sphincter at the ductus venosus inlet.

The anatomy of the umbilical, portal and hepatic venous systems in the human fetus at 14-19 weeks of gestation.

Background: Ultrasound imaging of the fetal ductus venosus is becoming increasingly commonplace in clinical practice. The true anatomical relationships of the fetal umbilical and portal venous systems have not been clearly defined due to paucity of published data on the relevant anatomy. This has led to confusing terminology when describing the fetal umbilical, portal and hepatic circulations.