The investigation of fetal liver, gallbladder, and spleen dimensions in healthy pregnancies

This study aimed to investigate the dimensions of the fetal liver, spleen, and gallbladder in healthy pregnancies between 14 and 40 weeks of gestation, and to establish nomograms based on ultrasonographic measurements. To accomplish this objective, 354 healthy pregnant women who presented to the perinatology clinic at Trakya University's Obstetrics and Gynecology Department between December 15, 2023, and July 31, 2024, and who were followed up and examined in the obstetrics ward, were evaluated with obstetric ultrasonography. The dimensions of the fetal liver, spleen, and gallbladder were measured in axial and sagittal planes. A total of five separate measurements were taken for each organ. The measurements were analyzed for weekly mean values as well as the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles, and the results were reported. The effects of gestational age on the measurements of the liver, spleen, and gallbladder were statistically assessed through linear regression analysis, which demonstrated that the size of all three organs increased proportionally with gestational age. According to the results, at the 50th percentile, the axial circumference of the fetal liver at 34 weeks, a critical period for fetal lung maturation, and at 37 weeks, considered full-term gestation, were found to be 264.6 mm and 270.6 mm, respectively. The axial circumference of the fetal spleen was 90.6 mm and 96.4 mm at 34 and 37 weeks, respectively. Additionally, at 34 and 37 weeks, the axial circumference of the fetal gallbladder was measured as 42.9 mm and 38.8 mm, respectively. As a result, nomograms of fetal liver, spleen and gallbladder sizes between 14-40 weeks of gestational age were created, which we believe can be used in routine obstetric practice.