ANATOMIC AND SONOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE FETAL SKULL

This article reviews developmental skull anatomy, especially as it rel ates to the formation of cranial sutures and fontanelles, and demonstr ates the appearance of these structures on prenatal sonograms, illustr ating the framework these structures provide to enable one to accurate ly identify components of the fetal skull. Examples are provided to il lustrate the utility of this knowledge. An understanding of fetal skul l development and appearance enables the sonographer to better charact erize fetal cranial abnormalities. More importantly, recognition of th e location of cranial sutures and fontanelles and their ability to ser ve as acoustic windows assists the sonographer in evaluation of the fe tal brain.