Growth of the tibia and fibula bones in human fetuses.

The growth of the long bones has been a subject of great importance lately, because it provides non invasive diagnosis of prenatal malformations. This study examines 116 tibia and fibula bones of Brazilian fetuses (17 males and 12 females) with gestational age ranging from the 16th to the 34th week postconception. Only fetuses with no visible congenital malformations and with normal biometric parameters were considered. The bones were measured with a 0.1 mm precision caliper and their Total Length (TL), the Ossified Diaphysis Length (ODL), the Diaphysis width (DW), the Proximal Epiphyss length (PEL) and the Distal Epiphyss Length (DEL) were studied. The Total Length (TL) and the Ossified Diaphysis Length (ODL) were correlated with those of the fetal Crown-Rump length (C-R). Our results have shown that there was an increase in all these measures, with no significant statistical difference observed between the left and the right sides. A significant correlation coefficient was found in most parts of the measurements studied. This study aims to provide data to be utilized in monitoring bone growth as well as in the diagnosis of the lower limb deformities during fetal period.