Marija Dakovic-Bjelakovic

Age-Related Changes of the Human Fetal Kidney Size

Early prenatal diagnostics and the importance of genetic counseling are of great interest for echosonographic evaluation of normal fetus anatomy. Development of the human fetal kidney runs through a series of continual and mutually dependent changes during which the kidney obtains its morphological and functional maturity. This study was created to estimate the changes in kidney size during gestation in fetuses from the 4th to the 10th lunar month, to evaluate the dynamics of their growth, as well as to establish the validity of the volume calculated from these dimensions. Serial measurements of kidney dimensions (length, width, thickness) were performed in 110 fetuses. Photomicrographs of kidneys from the 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th lunar months are also presented. On the basis of the results obtained by our examination, we concluded that the period from the 14th to 16th week of intrauterine life is the fastest period of kidney growth during fetal development. Using the ellipsoid formula for calculating the fetal renal volume offers an underestimation of about 32–33% on average. The importance of this study lies in determining the average fetal kidney dimensions, which could be used as standard values in obstetrics.

Association of two primitive carotid-basilar anastomoses and cerebrovascular abnormalities on the brain base: a case report

Simultaneous presence of the persistent primitive trigeminal artery and so-called intermediate communicating artery in a 77-years-old cadaver autopsied due to the myocardial infarction was discovered. Many vascular variants and abnormalities such as an aplasia of the right vertebral artery (VA), a presence of two right posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs), partial duplication of the right superior cerebellar artery, hypoplasia of the pre-communicating part (A1) of the right anterior cerebral artery and the right PCA of basilar origin, a special configuration of the anterior communicating artery (ACoA), and a small aneurysm at the right A1-ACoA junction were associated. The finding of an incipient cerebral aneurysm at the junction of the hypoplastic A1 and embryonal configuration of the ACoA in eight decade of life indicates that its development was caused by long-term pressure of blood flow at branching points of this artery independent from its caliber. However, it is not yet clear whether the persistence of the first and/or the second carotid-basilar anastomoses in this case was the condition for an aplasia of one VA or vice versa.

Erratum to “Unilateral Aplasia versus Bilateral Aplasia of the Vertebral Artery: A Review of Associated Abnormalities”

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/7238672.].