Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 13, Issue 7 523-528, Copyright © 1994 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Fetal scapular length in the ultrasonographic assessment of gestational age

D. M. Sherer, M. A. Plessinger and T. A. Allen
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, New York.

A prospective cross-sectional study of 515 singleton fetuses of ages between 15 and 42 weeks' gestation was performed. At gestational ages greater than 26 weeks, only fetuses with a sonographic estimated fetal weight between the 10th and 90th percentiles for growth were included. Scapular length (cm) as a function of gestational age (weeks) was expressed by the regression equation: SL = 0.3289 + 0.9553 (GA) with a Pearson correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.942. This study defines the normal limits of scapular length, demonstrates a high correlation between scapular length, gestational age, and other standard measurements of fetal growth, and indicates that scapular length can predict gestational age in fetuses with normal growth.

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