Digital analysis of the volume of the human foetal suprarenal arteries

Vascularisation of an organ is an index of its metabolic activity. The suprarenal glands are of crucial importance in the development of pregnancy. No data were found by the authors to describe the volume of the human foetal suprarenal arteries throughout pregnancy. The study was designed to form a database of human foetal suprarenal arterial volume in relation to foetal age and sex. Digital images were obtained at 4-week intervals of the suprarenal arteries of 30 foetuses aged between 12–40 Hbd. The arteries were primarily filled with LBS latex. A unique form of software was designed to assist in incorporating vector graphics, spliced functions of Bezier, into the analysis. The arteries contoured by the geometric curves were calculated for their initial, average and terminal diameter, length and volume. The measurements were compared in relation to foetal age and sex at 4-week intervals. Foetal age was assessed by means of calculation from the last menstrual period, manual measurement of foot length and ultrasonagraphic measurement of femoral length. The suprarenal arteries in human foetuses are of strongly individual variation both in their origin and quantity. The volume of the arteries appears constant in the group analysed

Normative values for selected linear indices of the intracranial fluid spaces based on CT images of the head in children

Background: Currently, a few imaging methods are used in CNS diagnostics: computed tomography - CT, magnetic resonance imaging - MRI, and ultrasonography - USG. The ventricular system changes its dimensions with child’s development. Linear indices commonly used in the diagnostics of hydrocephalus do not consider developmental changes of the intracranial fluid spaces. The aim of our work was to identify reference values for selected linear indices in specific age groups. Material/Methods: The material included 507 CT examinations of the head in children of different age and both sexes. There were 381 CT examinations considered as normal and they were used to establish the reference values. They were compared with 126 CTs from the observational zone (3-10 percentile and 90-97 percentile). The children were divided into 7 following age groups: 0-12 months, >12-36 months, >3-6 years, >6-9 years, >9-12 years, >12-15 years, >15-18 years. For every group, the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile was calculated. The range between the 10th and the 90th percentile was described as a norm. Results: Reference values for particular indices: Huckman Number from 3.3 to 5.0 cm with correlation coefficient according to age equal to 0.34; Evans’ Index from 0.218 to 0.312 with correlation coefficient of -0.12; Bifrontal Index from 0.265 to 0.380 with correlation coefficient of 0.18; Bicaudate / Frontal Index from 0.212 to 0.524 with correlation coefficient of -0,33; Bicaudate Index from 0.059 to 0.152 with correlation coefficient of -0.26; Bicaudate / Temporal Index from 0.051 to 0.138 with correlation coefficient of 0.32; Schiersmann’s Index from 3.545 to 6.038 with correlation coefficient of 0.42. Conclusions: The intracerebral CSF spaces increased in a non-uniform manner with age. All indices established on the basis of linear parameters were relatively higher in younger children than in the older ones. In proportion to the cranial size, the intracranial fluid spaces decreased according to the age

Digital-image analysis of the aortic arch’s development and its variations

The study was performed on 103 human foetuses (58 female, 45 male) spontaneously aborted at between 14 and 30 weeks of gestation. The arteries were filled with latex, preserved in formalin and then dissected under the microscope and digitalised using a camera system. The following measurements were taken with the use of special computer software: the external diameter, the length and the volume of the arch of the aorta. The increase in diameter and length in relation to age corresponded to a linear function with values ranging from 1.77 mm to 4.09 mm for the diameter and from 4.94 mm to 13.31 mm for the length. The increase in volume corresponded to a square root function with values ranging from 13.42 mm3 to 173.96 mm3. Analysis of arch of the aorta variations revealed 11 cases of a common trunk for the brachiocephalic trunk and the left common carotid artery and 7 cases with the left vertebral artery arising directly from the arch of the aorta. In 2 cases the brachiocephalic trunk was absent, the right subclavian artery branching directly from the arch of the aorta at the level of the left subclavian artery or from the descending aorta just below the arterial duct ostium