松浦 亨, 小林 秀樹, 神崎 徹, 宇津 正二, 千葉 喜英

Toru MATSUURA, Hideki KOBAYASHI, Toru KANZAKI, Masaji UTSU, Yoshihide CHIBA

国立循環器病センター周産期治療科

Department of Perinatology, National Cardiovascular Center

キーワード : Real-time two-demensional doppler flow imaging system, Fetus, Foramen ovale, Congenital heart disease, Prenatal diagnosis

Intracardiac blood flow was studied in 60 human fetuses using real-time two-dimensional doppler flow imaging system. Fetal gestational ages ranged from 21 to 40 weeks. In our study, not only the special features of the human fetal circulation were investigated, but also antenatal diagnoses of congenital heart diseases were carried out. Analyzing the intracardiac blood flow signals with this method, the special features of the human fetal circulation were established, these were: 1) Most of the blood from the inferior vena cava passed through the foramen ovale into the left atrium. 2) The blood from the superior vena cava was directed into the right ventricle. 3) In the bilateral ventricular inflows, late diastolic component coincident with atrial cystole was dominant. Further, congenital heart diseases were accurately diagnosed in a 24-week fetus with single ventricle and in a 37-week fetus with atrioseptal defect, tricuspid regurgitation and Ebstein's anomaly.