Reference Ranges of Blood Flow in the Major Vessels of the Normal Human Fetal Circulation at Term by Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Although too small a sample size to provide normal ranges, these results are in keeping with those predicted in humans based on measurements made in fetal lambs using radioactive microspheres and provide preliminary reference ranges for the late-gestation human fetuses. The wide range we found in foramen ovale shunting suggests a degree of variability in the way blood is streamed through the fetal circulation.