MRI of the fetal gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

MRI provided complete visualisation of the fetal GI tract, showed specific signal intensities, identified the level of an obstruction, detected a microcolon, and demonstrated communication between urinary and GI tracts. It shows great potential.

Use of fetal magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating ileal atresia from meconium ileus

“…This unusual signal in the dilated bowel loops has not previously been described in cases of cystic fibrosis and could be related to the abnormal composition of the meconium 10 . In the two cases of isolated ileal atresia, as already described by Saguintaah et al 4 , the dilated bowel exhibited hyperintense T1 and hypointense (meconium) T2 signals (Figure 2).…”

“…From 25 weeks' gestation onwards, the small bowel exhibits a high T2-weighted fluid signal, with a T1 signal similar to that of muscle or liver 5 . The rectum exhibits a high T1 signal from 19 weeks' gestation onwards due to the protein and mineral content of the meconium 4,6 , until at around 25 weeks' gestation the whole colon is meconium-filled. The rectum and colon are not visible or exhibit a very low signal on T2-weighted imaging 4 .…”

“…The rectum exhibits a high T1 signal from 19 weeks' gestation onwards due to the protein and mineral content of the meconium 4,6 , until at around 25 weeks' gestation the whole colon is meconium-filled. The rectum and colon are not visible or exhibit a very low signal on T2-weighted imaging 4 . The usefulness of MRI in cases of bowel obstruction has been stressed in case reports and small series 3 -5,7,8 .…”

“…We performed a literature search via PubMed on this topic (searching until 2005) and found that no-one except Petrikovsky et al 3 has ever quantified human fetal swallowing movements. Various other studies have quantified ovine fetal swallowing 4,5 .…”

“…The MRI appearance of the normal fetal gastrointestinal tract has been depicted and depends on gestational age 4,5 . From 25 weeks' gestation onwards, the small bowel exhibits a high T2-weighted fluid signal, with a T1 signal similar to that of muscle or liver 5 .…”