A Study on Fetal Palatal Growth with Respect to Different Anatomical Landmarks and Its Clinical Relevance: A Cadaveric Study. -

Background & objectives: Cleft lip and cleft palate are the most common facial malformations in newborn. Currently, ultrasonography is used to detect clefting prenatally as early as 16 weeks. The purpose of this anatomic study was to clarify the morphometry of the soft palate during the second and third fetal trimesters in order to improve the ultrasonographic visualization of the soft palate in the fetus. Methods: The study was done using sagittal sections of 24 formalin fixed dead fetuses of second and third trimester recruited from department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. The length of the hard palate, the length of the soft palate and the hard palate/soft palate angle were measured. The distances measured were from atlas vertebra to soft palate, hyoid to soft palate and hyoid to gnathion. Results: The significant difference between means was seen for the length of hard palate (p=0.004), length of soft palate (p=0.017), C1 to soft palate (p=0.032) and hyoid bone to gnathion (p<0.001) between second and third trimester. A positive correlation was found between gestational age (GA) and length of hard palate (r=0.5), GA and soft palate (r=0.3) and between GA and Gn-Hy (r=0.8). Conclusion: The growth of hard and soft palate was significant with respect to increase in GA, whereas the velopalatal angle did not vary much. The parameters of this study would be useful in the ultrasonographic assessment of the soft palate and prompt diagnosis of isolated cleft palate.