UROLOGICAL STUDIES ON JAPANESE FETUSES (PART VII)

CHANGES IN THE MENSURAL VALUES OF BOOD SURFACE DUE TO FETAL GROWTH

Abstract

The present study constitutes a part of urological studies on Japaneses fetuses, which is the research projectof our department, comprising the following papers:
1. The pyelograms of Japanese fetuses (a preliminary report.)
2. Part I The pyelograms of Japanese fetuses
3. Part II Development and morphologic growth of the renal pelvis, major an minor renal calices.
4. Part III The values and variations of the pyelograms in adults based on the measurement lines of fetuses.
5. Part IV Morphologio studies on the development of the ureter.
6. part V Formation of renal artery in the fetus.
7. Part VI Morphologic development of the urinary bladder in the light of the costograms of Japanese fetuses.
8. Special report: The ductules opening into the rectumt in the Japanese fetuses
In addition to the above subjects, the results of study on to changes in mensural values of body surface due to the growth of fetuses ranging in gestation age of 16-40 weeks as well as of postnatal period, are here summarized. These results should have been reported at an earlier stage of our studies, bue to the necessary delay in the collection of materials, they are presented as Part VII.
This paper presents the results of measurement of body surface at 40 different locations, which constitute the basic data for all the papers previously published. The surface area and size of each fetus studied in preceding papers can readily be found by simply referring to its number mentioned in this paper. Furthermore, the present study has endeavoured to describe the changes occurring in the body surface of the fetus due to the growth of fetal body. The points arbitrarily selecyed for measurement are: (A) body length, weight, chest circumference, digital span and planter length; (B) various points of the head and face; (C) various points of the trunk; (D) various points of the limbs; (E) the ration of mensural values of various points and organs of the head and face against the third digital length; and (F) correlation among the circumferences of the chest, abdomen, upper arm and thigh.
The results of these measurements are as follows:
1) The measurements were made on fetuses ate ach week ranging in age from 16 to 40 weeks of gestation and the averages are summarized in the accompanying table.
2) The monthly average values are calculated for fetuses at each month of gestation.
3) The ratio of the baby length to the measurement values obtained at each month of gestation age was obtained and the data are classified into three groups.
1. The lowest value of the ratios lying within the approximating limits was set at 0.48, to which the circumferences of the chest, head and abdomen belong.
2. Among the body length rations in the range of 0.35-0.11 are the total head length, the maximal length, the width of the head, the chest thickness, the interspinous distance of the ilium, the maximal waist width, the length, the maximal and minimal circumferences of the upper arm, and the length of the right sole.
3. The values lying between 0.07 and 0.02 in the body length ratio are those of the length and width of the nose, eye fissure, mouth width, oral fissuer, philtrum, the length of the right third finger, of the penis and of the labial tissure.
4. The ratio between the length of the right third finger and various organs of the head and face was calculted, but no particular significance could be found in the values.
5. The correlation among various important points of body surface was presened in a special graph.
6. The accompanying table indicates the growth rate of fetuses calculated on the basis of the weight at the 4th gestation month reached at the 10th month. It is clear that the greatest the greatest values are the body weight which is 42.5 times, the penis 5.76 times, the greatest circumference of the thight 4.89 times, the digital span and the labial fissure both 4.54 times. The smallest values are 2.1 times of the