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Normal sulcation and gyration in neonatal cranial sonography from 24 weeks gestational age until term: a pictorial essay

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Abstract

Cranial ultrasound remains the most practical and available imaging modality for evaluating the brain of neonates. This is a pictorial essay on preterm (≥24 weeks) and term neonates who had an unremarkable cranial ultrasound in the first week of life at St. Luke’s Medical Center Quezon City and St. Luke's Medical Center Global City from January 2017 to December 2021. We present two images for each landmark week of gestation in this retrospective multicentric review. The first image is in the coronal plane depicting the foramen of Monro and the third ventricle and the second image is in the sagittal plane at the level of the caudothalamic groove. The goal is to create an easy-to-use reference for the typical appearance and progression of the normal sulcation and gyration of the neonatal brain on ultrasound, depending on the weekly gestational age. Having a reference atlas matched for gestational age is a helpful tool for screening a myriad of pathologies and is expected to help clinicians and radiologists involved in the care of neonates monitor the development of the brain.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to the institution's data privacy policies but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their great appreciation to Dr. Martina Aurea J. Tac-an for preparing the line diagrams.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Northern Mindanao Medical Center, Capitol Compound, Corrales Avenue, 9000, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

    Justin Luke D. Yap

  2. Section of Pediatric Radiology, Institute of Radiology, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines

    Justin Luke D. Yap & Nathan David P. Concepcion

  3. Section of Pediatric Radiology, Institute of Radiology, St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City, Taguig, Philippines

    Nathan David P. Concepcion

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  1. Justin Luke D. Yap
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  2. Nathan David P. Concepcion
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Contributions

N.D.P.C. conceived, supervised and supported the study. J.L.D.Y. collated the data and drafted the initial manuscript. N.D.P.C. and J.L.D.Y. conceptualized the schematic, interpreted the images and reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Justin Luke D. Yap.

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Yap, J.L.D., Concepcion, N.D.P. Normal sulcation and gyration in neonatal cranial sonography from 24 weeks gestational age until term: a pictorial essay. Pediatr Radiol 53, 2281–2290 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-023-05732-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-023-05732-4

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