Morphometry of the gallbladder during the fetal period

Abstract

Abstract Purpose In this study, our objective was to investigate the development of the gallbladder, its morphological structure and relationship with the adjacent organs during the fetal period. Materials and methods A total of 118 human fetuses (60 males, 58 females) between 9 and 40 weeks of gestation without any external anomaly or pathology were included. They were divided into four groups according the gestational age: I (9-12 weeks), II (13-25 weeks), III (26-37 weeks) and IV (term, 38-40 weeks). The location of gallbladder on the visceral surface of liver has been identified. The gallbladders have been classified into four different types. Width and length of the gallbladder were measured and the relationship between fundus of gallbladder and inferior margin of the liver was noted. Findings The gallbladder was located on the visceral surface of liver in all cases during the fetal period. There were no differences between males and females by means of length and width. There was a statistically significant relationship between the size of gallbladder and the gestational age (P \ 0.001). There was also a significant difference in the distribution of gallbladder types among the groups during the fetal period. The fundus of gallbladder was under the transverse plane passing from the part of inferior margin of the liver near the gallbladder in 14% of the cases. Results We concluded that there could be different types of gallbladders during the fetal period. We believe that the data collected in our study may contribute to the evaluation of the gallbladder development during the intrauterine period