The gestational age of a fetus can be estimated in the period from 10 to 30 weeks by examining the histology of abdominal skin.
Histologic Finding |
Gestational Age |
no appendages |
10 weeks |
crowding of nuclei in basal cells with budding |
14 weeks |
accumulation of mesenchymal cells below the developing hair bud |
16 weeks |
elongation of hair follicles with new bud formation |
17 weeks |
sebaceous glands present, and hair shaft visible |
18 weeks |
eccrine gland buds with oval nuclei |
20 weeks |
elongation of mostly solid eccrine ducts |
23 weeks |
early coiling of eccrine glands with lumen |
25 weeks |
coiling of eccrine glands seen as multiple transverse sections |
30 weeks |
where:
• The gestational age is given from the last menstrual period.
Performance:
• In 379 fetuses the authors had 97% agreement with the actual gestational age.
Limitations:
• Advanced autolysis may limit the histologic examination.
• Congenital skin diseases may affect the interpretation.
Specialty: Clinical Laboratory, Pedatrics
ICD-10: ,