Ultrasonography of the Prenatal Brain

Contributors ........................................................... ix
Foreword ................................................................. xi
Prefaces .................................................................. xiii
Acknowledgments .............................................. xvii
1. Prenatal Development of the Brain ............. 1
Ronan O’Rahilly and Fabiola Müller
2. Normal Two- and
Three-Dimensional Neurosonography
of the Prenatal Brain .................................... 15
Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch, Ana Monteagudo,
and Maria Del Rio
3. Biometry of the Fetal Brain ...................... 103
Natan Haratz-Rubinstein, Ana
Monteagudo, and Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch
4. Ventriculomegaly ....................................... 171
Gianluigi Pilu, Gustavo Malinger,
and Selim Buyukkurt
5. Anomalies of Dorsal Induction ............... 179
Ana Monteagudo
and Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch
6. Anomalies of Ventral Induction ............. 227
Gianluigi Pilu, Selim Buyukkurt,
and Gustavo Malinger
7. Malformations of Cortical
Development ............................................... 247
Gustavo Malinger, Ants Toi,
Liat Ben-Sira, and Tally Lerman-Sagie
8. Anomalies of the Cerebellum .................. 283
Gianluigi Pilu, Gustavo Malinger,
and Selim Buyukkurt
9. Intrauterine Infections Affecting
the Brain ....................................................... 303
Gustavo Malinger
and Tally Lerman-Sagie
10. Intrauterine Insults: Fetal Stroke
and Destructive Processes ........................ 321
Ana Monteagudo, Gianluigi Pilu,
Gustavo Malinger, Selim Buyukkurt,
and Ashwin Jadhav
11. Intracranial Cysts ....................................... 351
Eran Bornstein, Ana Monteagudo,
and Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch
12. Metabolic Disorders .................................. 373
Asuri N. Prasad, Gustavo Malinger,
and Tally Lerman-Sagie
13. Tumors of the Brain .................................. 393
Israel Meizner
14. The Fetal Eye ............................................... 407
Zeev Blumenfeld
and Moshe Bronshtein
15. Fetal Cerebral Circulation ........................ 427
Ritsuko K. Pooh and Shimon Degani
16. Craniofacial Anomalies ............................. 447
Gianluigi Pilu, Gustavo Malinger,
and Tullio Ghi
17. Vertebral Anomalies .................................. 467
Yinon Gilboa, Eldad Katorza,
and Reuven Achiron
Index ...................................................................... 477

Ultrasonography of the Prenatal Brain

CONTENTS

The concept for this book was born many years ago and
was preceded by careful acquisition and selection of representative
neurosonograms of normal and abnormal cases.
The central nervous system is probably the most elaborate
and intricate organ or system in the human body. Minute
structural abnormalities can, at times, reflect major functional
deficiencies. On the other hand, it would appear that
at times major anatomic defects do not seem to be associated
with significantly deviant function. It is extremely
important to study and understand the normal and abnormal
fetal and neonatal central nervous system. The central
nervous system is one of the common sites of anatomical
malformation in the fetus with chromosomal abnormality.
The detection of anomalies within the fetal and neonatal
brain is feasible using modern imaging techniques, such
as ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance
imaging.
The aim of prenatal ultrasonography is to be able to
reassure the pregnant patient as early as possible that fetal
development is normal; or if a malformation is detected to
counsel the patient about the nature of the problem. Most
anomalies of the central nervous system develop early, and
we have the tools to detect these as early as 10 to 16 weeks.
Early detection of such central nervous system anomalies
is probably the most important advance in modern perinatology.
Neonatal ultrasound confirms the prenatal diagnosis.
In addition, neonatal neurosonography is a powerful