ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 September 2004
Page Count: 5

Fetal Visceral Maturation: A Useful Contribution to Gestational Age Estimation in Human Fetuses
Liprandi, A
Service d'Anatomie Pathologie et de Neuropathologie, CHU Timone,

Figarella-Branger, D
Service d'Anatomie Pathologie et de Neuropathologie, CHU Timone,

Leonetti, G

Piercecchi-Marti, MD

Dutour, O
Université de la Méditerranée,

Adalian, P
Laboratoire de Médecine Légale,

(Received 24 January 2004; accepted 24 April 2004)

Abstract

With regard to the law, estimating fetal age is essential to assess viability (after 20 weeks according to the WHO) and the proposed methods generally use long bone measurements. Here, we evaluated the accuracy of soft tissue maturational stage and compared it with long bone measurements. First, eight kinds of tissues or organs from 448 fetuses with known medical history were studied (macroscopically or histologically). We clearly demonstrated that adrenal glands and skin were very good age indicators, because some characteristics appeared only after 20 weeks. We established a linear regression with a 95% confidence interval of +/− 2.9 weeks. Second, we applied our original formula using femur measurement and we combined soft tissues and bones in a multiparametric regression. The confidence interval was reduced to +/− 2.5 weeks. We conclude that the pathologist must use both histological and anthropometric data to determine fetal age as accurately as possible.

Keywords:
forensic science, fetus, visceral maturation, age estimation, femur

Paper ID: JFS2004027
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2004027
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