Umbilical venous blood flow and its measurement in the human fetus

J Clin Ultrasound. 2012 Oct;40(8):502-11. doi: 10.1002/jcu.21970. Epub 2012 Aug 1.

Abstract

In this review, we evaluate the published methodologies to describe a noninvasive technique for the quantitative assessment of umbilical venous blood flow in the human fetus. We identify a number of variations in the reported methodologies and address some of the common errors associated with Doppler assessment of umbilical venous flow volume. The potential role of umbilical venous flow volumetry in the management of intrauterine growth restriction is briefly evaluated including its utility and reliability in everyday clinical practice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Blood Flow Velocity
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Female
  • Fetal Growth Retardation / diagnostic imaging*
  • Fetal Growth Retardation / physiopathology
  • Fetus / blood supply
  • Gestational Age
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pregnancy
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Ultrasonography, Doppler, Duplex*
  • Ultrasonography, Prenatal / methods*
  • Umbilical Cord / blood supply
  • Umbilical Cord / diagnostic imaging
  • Umbilical Veins / diagnostic imaging*
  • Umbilical Veins / physiology