Transvaginal fetal neurosonography: standardization of the planes and sections by anatomic landmarks

Owing to the limited mobility of the transvaginal probe within the vagina and the introitus, it is virtually impossible to obtain coronal and sagittal sections that are anatomically comparable to those obtained in anatomic sections, computed tomography or magnetic resonance scanning. The aim of this paper is to standardize the neurosonographic images of the fetal brain and develop a nomenclature that more closely reflects the true anatomic sections. A retrospective review of 347 fetal neuroscans was performed. With the use of specific landmarks within the fetal brain, new nomenclature was developed. The scans were divided into the frontal, coronal and sagittal groups. Each group was subsequently further divided into three specific sections. The transvaginal sonographic images of the fetal brain radiate in a fan-like fashion from the anterior fontanelle; therefore the new proposed nomenclature more accurately describes the true anatomic sections.