PRENATAL DYNAMICS OF MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS OF THE HUMAN STOMACH

Objective – to determine the features of the dynamics of morphometric changes in thestomach in the prenatal period of human ontogenesis.Material and methods. 18 specimens of human embryos and pre-fetuses aged 4-12 weeks,36 fetuses aged 4-10 months were studied using a complex of morphological researchmethods. Morphometry of the fetal stomach was performed using an ultrasoundexamination of pregnant women (100 observations) from 9 to 40 weeks of gestation.Results. From the 20th week of gestation, the fetal stomach acquires a rounded or ovalshape with liquid contents. The organ is projected into the right upper quadrant of theanterolateral abdominal wall. In 4-6-month-old fetuses, the stomach is predominantlyfusiform in shape, and the greater curvature is located ventrally to the lesser curvature.The body and the pyloric part are distinguished in the organ, but the fundus and the pyloriccave are not diff erentiated. At the 7th month, the folds of the mucous membrane of the pyloricpart of the stomach acquire a predominantly longitudinal or oblique- transverse direction.Conclusions. 1. The longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the stomach are signifi cantlycorrelated with the age of the fetus (r = 0.76, r = 0.44, respectively), as are the abdominalcircumference and the chest circumference of the fetus (r = 0.97 and r = 0.99, respectively).2. The gastroduodenal segment is characterized by the following ratios: the largest diameterhas the pyloric canal, than ampulla of the duodenum (smaller than the previous segment) andthe smallest is the pylorus of the stomach. Accelerated growth of morphometric parameters ofthe stomach is noted in the second trimester of intrauterine development. 3. In the perinatalperiod of ontogenesis, the pyloric part of the stomach is projected in the epigastric region to the right, at the level or to the left of the midline, but from the third trimester the frequency of the right- sided position relative to the midline increases to 69.0-72.7 %, and the frequency of its left-sided position decreases to 13.8-9.1 %. 4. During intrauterine development, the shape of the stomach changes from fusiform in the second trimester to a mixed shape (fusiform and saccular) in the third trimester.