Fetal Medicine Glossary

A prenatal diagnostic procedure involving the extraction of amniotic fluid for genetic testing.

A palpation technique where gentle pressure displaces the fetus, which then rebounds and can be felt moving back against...

Ratio of middle cerebral artery to umbilical artery pulsatility indices, used to assess fetal well-being.

Prenatal diagnostic procedure involving direct sampling of fetal blood from the umbilical cord.

Statistical ranking of fetal weight compared to population norms for gestational age.

Death of a fetus in the uterus after 20 weeks of gestation, also known as stillbirth.

Procedure to transfuse blood directly into the fetus to treat severe anemia.

A range of conditions where placental villi abnormally invade the uterine wall, from superficial attachment to complete...

Condition where the placenta partially or completely covers the cervical opening, potentially causing bleeding and compl...

Premature separation of the placenta from the uterine wall before delivery.

The presence of chromosomally abnormal cells only in placental tissue while fetal cells remain normal.

Growth restriction affecting only one twin in a monochorionic pregnancy due to unequal placental sharing.

Abnormal umbilical cord attachment where vessels insert into the membranes rather than directly into the placental disc.

Enlargement of the fetal brain ventricles detected on ultrasound examination.