Objectives: To delineate the fetal brain structures of 10 weeks gestational age (GA) with 9.4 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathological sections.
Methods: Six fetal specimens of 10 weeks GA were scanned by 9.4 T MRI, and then sectioned and dyed to obtain the corresponding histopathological sections. The fetal brain structures were comparatively observed on the MRIs and sections, and the 3D reconstruction models were obtained.
Results: Four zones of the laminar organization were found in 9.4 T MRIs, while 6 zones can be delineated in the corresponding histopathological sections. The ventricular zone, cortical plate and marginal zone were delineated clearly on both MRI and histopathological sections. Mixed periventricular zone, subventricular zone, intermediate zone and subplate zone were found on MRI, while they were delineated as the periventricular zone, mixed subventricular zone, intermediate zone and subplate zone on histopathological sections. The surface of the cerebellum was smooth with low signal on MRI. The 3D reconstruction model could directly delineate the shape, position and adjacency of the fetal brain structures. The cerebellum was crawled behind the midbrain, and locally connected with the midbrain. The proportion of lateral ventricles and choroid plexus was very large in the brain, with the choroid plexus accounting for 40.4 % of the lateral ventricles and the lateral ventricles accounting for 46.1 % of the cerebral hemisphere.
Conclusion: The fetal brain of 10 weeks GA is still at an early stage of development. There are good consistencies between the 9.4 T MRI and histopathological sections in delineating the fetal brain structures.
Keywords: MRI; brain; development; fetus; histopathological sections
Ethical statement: This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethical Committee at Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University (Permit number: NO. 2019 – 075).
Funding statement: National Natural Science Foundation of China (81300497); Doctoral Foundation of Shandong Province (BS2013YY025).