FETAL BREASTS IN NORMAL AND DOWN-SYNDROME FETUSES

To assess the validity of fetal breast size measurement as a sonograph ic marker in fetuses with Down syndrome. Methods: Fetal breasts were s tudied in 26 fetuses with trisomy 21 and 78 fetuses with normal chromo somes. Breasts were identified and measured in a cross-sectional plane of the fetal chest at the level of the four-chamber view of the heart . Normal fetuses had a mean breast size of 3.8 mm +/- 1.1 mm. Fetuses with Down syndrome had a mean breast size of 1.9 mm +/- 0.7 mm (p less than or equal to 0.0001). Diminished breast size measured by ultrasou nd in the second trimester may be helpful in identifying fetuses with Down syndrome. (C) 1996 crohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.