Ventriculomegaly

Abstract

Fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly is defined as the enlargement of the lateral ventricles of the developing fetal brain. The term “hydrocephalus” is frequently used as synonym, but it should be limited only to cases with increased pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and usually increased head circumference. Since CSF pressure cannot be measured in the fetal period, the term ventriculomegaly should be preferred. The diagnosis of ventriculomegaly is usually based on reference ranges established by Cardoza et al., in 1988, in which the upper limit of the fetal ventricular measurement does not change during gestation (from 14 to 40 weeks). The incidence of fetal ventriculomegaly ranges from 0.3 to 1.5 per 1000 births according to different series [1].