Thoracic Key

On average, up to 12% of liveborn infants in the developed world are born prior to term. These rates have increased as a consequence of assisted reproductive technology and earlier…

Introduction Examination of the frequency of congenital cardiac disease, either as a rate or as a proportion, has important implications for the study of congenital cardiac malformations, as well as…

In developed countries, the last few decades have heralded many advances in the diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD). These include surgery in neonates and infants; the establishment…

Introduction The placenta is one of the most important and least understood organs in the human body. It is a complex, highly organized structure that—amazingly—can be grown, discarded, and fully…

Introduction The heart is the first organ to become fully functional in the developing embryo, providing the circulatory system necessary for embryogenesis and subsequent fetal development when growth cannot be…

Key WordsFetal echocardiography, Doppler, color Doppler   Introduction Malformation of the heart and arterial trunks is the most common form of congenital anomaly found in humans. They occur in approximately…

Introduction As fetal echocardiography has advanced over the past several decades, our understanding of the natural history of congenital heart disease in utero has progressed. For select lesions that evolve…

Introduction From the functional point of view, the heart is simply a specialized part of the vascular system. Nonetheless, development of the heart as a specialized pump is of great…

Introduction The ability to accurately measure blood flow and oxygen saturations across the human late-gestation fetal circulation offered by advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has provided new insights into…