Correlates of prenatal visceromegaly

Aside from recognized overgrowth syndromes, instances of visceromegaly are not uncommon at perinatal autopsy. The database of the University of Michigan Teratology Unit was screened for individual viscera exceeding the 90th centile for body and brain weight standards. The data were stratified for several maternal (hypertension, diabetes, obesity), gestational (chorioamnionitis, oligohydramnios, amniorrhaea, polyhydramnios), and fetal (body wall defect, cardiac malformation, renal malformation, diaphragmatic hernia, nonimmune hydrops, twin transfusion syndrome) characteristics and tested for statistically significant excessive numbers of heavy organs. The most striking associations were heavy adrenal glands and liver with chorioamnionitis, heavy heart with polyhydramnios and in the twin transfusion syndrome, and heavy heart and liver with nonimmune hydrops. Excessive brain weight for body weight had a number of correlations, each most likely reflecting growth restriction with sparing of brain growth.