One of the most powerful applications of imaging science is the diagnosis of fetal abnormalities.
“Imaging provides an ability to depict things that previously were only able to be diagnosed by surgery,” says Marta Hernanz-Schulman, M.D., director of Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Some conditions can be treated before birth.
For example, when the male urethra—the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside—is obstructed, the bladder can become massively dilated. Urine may back up the ureters, causing severe kidney damage. By inserting a needle through the uterine wall into the fetal bladder, under the guidance of ultrasound, the obstetrician can drain the bladder into the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, thereby relieving pressure on the kidneys.
A) Normal brain and bladder
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