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Imaging the first trimester heart: ultrasound correlation with morphology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2014

Fenna A. R. Jansen ,
Emmeline E. Calkoen ,
Monique R. M. Jongbloed ,
Margot M. Bartelings  and
Monique C. Haak
Fenna A. R. Jansen
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland
Emmeline E. Calkoen
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland
Monique R. M. Jongbloed*
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland
Margot M. Bartelings
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland
Monique C. Haak
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherland
*
Correspondence to: Dr M. R. M. Jongbloed, MD, PhD, Department of Anatomy & Embryology and Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center Postal zone: S-1-P, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 71 526 9380; Fax: +31 71 526 8289; E-mail: m.r.m.jongbloed@lumc.nl
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Abstract

First trimester sonography is a widely used technique to examine the foetus early in pregnancy. The desire to recognise complex anatomy already in early developmental stages stresses the need for a thorough knowledge of basic developmental processes as well as recognition of cardiac compartments based on their morphology. In this paper, we describe the possibilities and limitations of sonographic assessment of the foetal heart between 10 and 14 weeks of gestation and correlate this to morphology. Examples of the most commonly detected congenital anomalies are atrioventricular septal defects, transposition of the great arteries, and hypoplastic left heart, which are shown in this paper.

Keywords

Cardiac embryologycardiac morphologyfirst trimester ultrasonography
Type
Original Article
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 24 , Issue S2: Fetal cardiovascular medicine: current perspectives and future hopes , October 2014 , pp. 3 - 12
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2014 

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Footnotes

*

Both authors contributed equally.

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