To Establish A Correlation Between Liver Morphometric Parameters With Gestational Age

Abstract

Background: During most of the prenatal period, the liver occupies a large portion of the abdomen, playing a key role in the development of functional organs. The left and right lobes of the liver show a linear increase in size from 18 – 41 weeks of gestational age. We can utilize this fact to assess the gestational age. The normal range of the fetal liver's length is useful for identifying and monitoring hepatomegaly of fetuses in diabetes mothers.

Objective: The objective of the study was to correlate the vertical, transverse, and sagittal diameter of the liver with the gestational age (GA) of the fetus.

Methods: This study was conducted on 131 formalin-fixed fetuses with the gestational age ranging from 12 to 36 weeks in the Department of Anatomy of D Y Patil medical college in the collaboration with OBGY Department of D Y Patil Hospital, Nerul, Navi Mumbai (from July 2020 to December 2022). The liver was dissected and measurements of the vertical, transverse, and sagittal diameter of the fetal liver were taken with the help of vernier caliper.

Results: From this study, we calculated the mean value and standard deviation of the vertical, transverse, and sagittal diameters of the fetal liver. The value of which is 28.19±8.55 mm, 42.01±10.47 mm, and 19.32±5.56 mm respectively for the total sample size. Calculation of the vertical, transverse, and sagittal diameter of the liver was found to be highly significant.

Conclusion: This study concluded that there is a significant correlation between the vertical, transverse, and sagittal diameter of the fetal liver with the gestational age. It is crucial to make the right preoperative diagnosis if needed after birth.