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Perinatal Imaging

  • Owen J. ArthursEmail author
  • Neil James Sebire
Chapter

Abstract

Just as there are a range of pediatric imaging techniques available during life, a similar repertoire is available as part of the fetal and perinatal postmortem (PM) examination. This chapter gives an overview of the spectrum of radiological imaging modalities currently available in perinatal pathology, covering fetal and neonatal imaging. This covers the diagnostic utility of PM radiographs or X-rays, ultrasound, CT, and MRI in this clinical setting. Each modality is presented with an explanation of how the technique works and how the images are acquired, what the relative advantages and disadvantages of each technology are, and how they may be best employed in the postmortem perinatal setting, with reference to current literature on diagnostic accuracy, where available. The need for appropriate training in the interpretation of normal PM changes is highlighted, and future directions for improving PM imaging in this context is outlined.

Keywords

Radiograph Computed tomography (CT) Ultrasound (US) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Autopsy Pathology Fetus Stillbirth Miscarriage Minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) Less invasive autopsy (LIA) Postmortem Postmortem X-ray or radiograph (PMXR) Postmortem computed tomography (angiography) (PMCT [A]) Postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (PMMR) Perinatal mortality rate (PMR) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) Sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of RadiologyUCL Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation TrustLondonUK
  2. 2.Department of HistopathologyUCL Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street HospitalLondonUK

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