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Objectives: In this study we aimed to investigate the normal developmental pattern of the human fetal heart in second and third trimester, and to evaluate the correlation of the values with the gestational age (GA)., Methods: Seventy spontaneously aborted human fetuses with no external malformations were investigated and 11 parameters from each were assessed. The relationship of these parameters with the GA was evaluated by linear regression and correlation analyses using statistical methods. In addition, the values were compared to the gender and sides of the heart using Student t-test. This study was performed at the Department of Anatomy, Meram Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey, during the period from 2000 to 2004., Results: There was a statistically significant linear relationship between the heart wall thicknesses, the development of the valves of the heart and GA. The mean values of the right side of the heart were found to be higher than those of the left side, and differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). Although, most of the parameters were found to be higher in females, only 2 of them were statistically significant. All parameters of the cardiac valves measured were significantly higher in the second trimester. There was no difference regarding the correlation ratio of the trimesters between the pulmonary valve diameter and GA. The measurement of the cardiac valves did not show any differences regarding the gender., Conclusion: This study presents the normal values of the development of the fetal heart in second and third trimester that may provide useful background information for clinical approaches.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the presence, differentiation and morphological features of the anterolateral band (ALB) and posteromedial bands (PMB) of the ligamentum cruciatum posterior (PCL) in human fetuses and to map PCL. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 40 fetal knees with gestational ages ranging from 13 to 25 weeks of gestation without any external pathology or anomaly. ALB and PMB distinction was made when the knees were in full flexion position, and morphometric measurements of origo and insertio, mid width and length of PCL, ALB and PMB were made. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and quantitative statistical methods. Results: When the right and left side parameters were evaluated in all fetuses in the measurements of ALB, it was determined that there was a significant difference in the proximal width measurement of ALB (p<0.05). There was a strong correlation between right and left sides of PCL, distal width (r=0.668; p=0.001), proximal width (r=0.849; p<0.001) and length measurements (r=0.795; p<0.001). A strong correlation was found between the right and left sides and the proximal width of the ALB (r=0.758; p<0.001), midpoint width (r=0.832; p<0.001) and length (r=0.691; p=0.001) measurements (p=0.001). In addition, a strong correlation was found between the measurements of the proximal width (r=0.645; p=0.005) and length (r=0.675; p=0.001) of the PMB between the right and left sides. Conclusion: A broad mapping was obtained about the characteristics of PCL and its bands in the fetal period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate of morphometry of the lateral meniscus (LM) and determine incidence of the LM shapes.Methods: This study was performed on fetal cadaver collection of Anatomy Department of Necmettin Erbakan University. Fifty human fetal cadavers (25 female, 25 male human fetal cadavers) were used in this study. Microdissection was performed. Morphometric measurements were performed. LM were classified into four types and five subtypes.Results: In this study, it was identified that all parameters which were measured were found to be increased with gestational ages. Four morphological types and five morphological subtypes were determined. It was found that 12% of the LM were crescent-shaped, 66% of the LM were C-shaped, 14% of the LM were incomplete-disc-shaped, 2% of the LM were disc-shaped, 6% of the LM were variant C-shaped.Conclusions: A few studies on fetal meniscal anatomy and its development were performed. Each new study is important for having detailed anatomy and development of the fetal menisci which will have both clinical and anatomical impacts during childhood and adulthood for orthopedic surgeons and anatomists, respectively. The most important results of this study were the detailed objective analysis of the macroscopic fetal growth of LM. It was significantly observed that four morphological types and five morphological subtypes of LM. The results of the present study related with both the observation of morphological development of the fetal meniscal anatomy, and its morphological variants, are important in terms of improving our knowledge, and clinical approach on the description, and the management of the symptomatic lateral discoid meniscus tears in children, adolescents, and adults. The clinical relevance of this study was that this classification of fetal menisci could ameliorate our current understanding of the morphology of lateral meniscus in adult, further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the morphometric characteristics of the acetabulum, the ligament of the femoral head (LFH) and the femoral head, and the relationships among them in 30 spontaneously aborted human fetuses. The maximum length and width of the LFH, the transverse and vertical diameters of the femoral head and the acetabulum, the height of the femoral head and the depth of the acetabulum were measured and the existence of any relationship among them was assessed statistically. The acetabulum was circular in 58.4% of cases and oval in 41 .6%. The diameter of the femoral head was less than that of the acetabulum in 91 .7% of subjects. In one case the base of the acetabulum was devoid of cartilage tissue. When all of the parameters were compared according to gender and lateralization, only the length of the LFH in females on the left side was greater than that on the right side (P < 0.05). There was a high correlation between the diameters of the acetabulum and the femoral head as well as the acetabular depth and the height of the femoral head. The relation between gestational age and the measured data was significant (P < 0.05). The presented data may help to explain the effect of hip joint morphology during developmental stages on the process of some congenital hip joint diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]