Echocardiographic Anatomy in the Fetus

Whether in fetal or postnatal life, echocardiographic diagnosis is based on moving images. With recent advances in
ultrasound systems, storing multiple digital frames and clips with superb image quality has become a reality. These
advances have brought innovative applications into the clinical field and can be integrated into powerful multimedia
presentations for teaching.

Sections of cardiac specimens are usually compared with corresponding sections in echocardiography textbooks. These
sections are mainly obtained from isolated hearts, due to ease and speed of acquisition. Nevertheless, sections of the
whole body are a better tool with which to understand the relationship between cardiac and extracardiac structures.
This understanding is particularly important in fetal echocardiography, where the number of visible structures around
the heart is much greater and the approaches to the fetal thorax are more variable.

The CD-ROM accompanying the book presents morphological pictures from tomographic sections of the whole fetal body,
combined with high quality dynamic echocardiographic images of normal fetuses and of some of the most common congenital
heart defects.

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Imaging Technique.
- Determining the fetal left/right axis.
- Transverse views of the upper abdomen. The portal sinus. The infracardiac inferior vena cava.
- Transverse views of the thorax. The four chamber view. The coronary sinus and the mouth of the inferior vena cava
(caudal orientation of the four chamber view). The five chamber view (cranial orientation of the four chamber view).
-The three vessel view. The transverse view of the ductus arch. The transverse view of the aortic arch. The transverse
view of the ductus and aortic arch.- Long-axis views of the thorax. The long-axis view of the aortic arch. The long-
axis view of the ductus arch. The bicaval view.
- The short-axis views of the heart. Atrial appendages. The right ventricle outflow view. The short-axis view of the
ventricles.
- The long-axis view of the left ventricle (the two chamber view).
- Position and major axis orientation of the heart.
- Visceral and atrial situs.- The cardio-thoracic circumpherence and area ratio.
- Ventricular with and wall thickness.
- Ventricular function assessment.
- Cardiac rhythm assessment.
- Sequential analysis.

The extraordinary amount of information provided in this work will make this publication a useful tool for
obstetricians, sonographers and pediatric cardiologists.