NORMAL CLOSING TIME OF THE FORAMEN OVALE AND THE DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS

Abstract

Statements regarding the closing time of the foramen ovale and the ductus arteriosus vary markedly in the literature. Therefore it seemed worth while to study the material available from necropsies performed at the Babies' Hospital in order to determine more accurately when these fetal openings are closed after birth. In Gray's "Anatomy"¹it was stated that the foramen ovale is closed ten days and the ductus arteriosus in from four to ten days after birth. Holt and Howland²(1928) said that the closing time of the foramen is the middle of the first year, and that the ductus is invariably obliterated in twenty days. Griffith and Mitchell³gave the closing time of the foramen as several months after birth or during the second year, and that of the ductus as one or two weeks after birth. Patten and Taggart's 4 recent article contains the statement that the