Comparison between ultrasound (US) and macrodisection measurements of human foetal kidney

Development of the foetal human kidney runs through a series of continual and mutually dependent changes during which the kidney obtains its morphological and functional maturity. In recent times, there has been a significant improvement in intrauterine observations of the normal growth and development of the foetus, as well as of anomalies in the development of foetal organs. Ultrasound measurement of foetal kidney dimensions provides monitoring of the normal growth and development since the anomalies in the growth are most strikingly expressed in changes in the kidney dimensions. Kidney size in relation to gestational age was determined by 60 Ultra Sound photos of 60 intrauteral foetuses of both sexes and macrodisectional measurements of 60 foetuses post mortem with gestational ages from 18 to 31 weeks. The renal volume was calculated from the outer kidney diameters using the volume formula for an ellipsoid. The results were statistically analyzed. Student's t-test and Mann-Whithney U Test were applied. The examinations have shown that the kidney is an organ that undergoes complicated changes during embryonic development. Therefore, knowledge of these measurements may contribute to earlier diagnosis of a variety of abnormalities.