ANENCEPHALY

1.  Dr Arun Gupta
Director imaging
 Dr Rakhee gupta
Dr R K S Gandhi
Dr Vinayak Mittal
Dr Ritesh Mahajan
ANENCEPHALY

2. ANENCEPHALY
CHARACTERIZED BY
1. Absence of the
2. Cranial vault
3. Cerebral
hemispheres
4. Diencephalic
Structures.
These structures are
replaced by a flattened,
amorphous Vascular-
neural mass
Area
Cerebro-vasculosa
Coronal view of fetus
shows the spine ending in a clump of
amorphous vascular neural mass without
a formed cranial vault .

3. TUI
Tomographic USG imaging
Appreciate the spine ending in the skull base bones .
No cranial vault bones .
Amorphous vascular neural mass appreciated over the skull base

4. Rendered image of the fetal orbits with absence of the normal
Formed cranial bones .
Fetal orbits
Absence of the
Cranial vault bones
Area cerebro vasculosa

5. An overview…………………..
 Area cerebrovasculoa may
resemble brain but there is
always absence of the skin ,
cranial bones and brain
above the orbits.
 Facial structures and orbits
are present .
 Spine , Non CNS anomalies
,Polyhydramnios are usually
associated .
 Dysraphism may involve
entire head/ spine
( Craniorachischisis )
 Outcome of the
anencephaly is invariably
fatal and termination is
offered at any age .
 Eraly detection ( as early
as 14wks ) . TVS
examination with
dedicated assessment of
the frontal bones can be
attempted for early
detection but diagnosis of
anencephaly should not be
made before 10wks of
gestation.
ANENCEPHALY

6.  In early pregnancy
area cerebro-vasculosa
may resemble normal
brain without bony
covering ( exencephaly
) but as the pregnancy
grows the brain is
destroyed and becomes
flattened as in
anencephaly .
ANENCEPHALY
An overview…………………..

7. CORONAL
VIEW
Fetal orbits
appreciated .
Appreciate
flattening of
the curvature
above the
fetal orbits

8. FORMED BASAL
SKULL BONES
POLYHYDRAMNIOS
APPRECIATE THE
Echogenic amniotic
fluid caused by
debris shed from the
uncovered brain .

9. A N E N C E P H A L Y : A B S E N C E O F T H E
C R A N I A L V A U L T , C E R E B R A L H E M I S P H E R E S , A N D
D I E N C E P H A L I C S T R U C T U R E S . T H E S E A R E R E P L A C E D
B Y A F L A T T E N E D , A M O R P H O U S V A S C U L A R - N E U R A L
M A S S ( A R E A C E R E B R O V A S C U L O S A )
E X E N C E P H A L Y : N O R M A L B R I A N U N C O V E R E D B Y
B O N E
C R A N I O R A C H I S C H I S I S : D Y S R A P H I C A B N O R M A L I T Y
I N V O L V E S T H E H E A D A N D E N T I R E S P I N E
A C R A N I A : A B S E N C E O F T H E C R A N I A L V A U L T B O N E S
O F T H E C A L V A R I U M
TERMINOLOGY

10. REFERENCE
DIAGNOSTIC
ULTRASOUND
FOURTH EDITION
Carol M. Rumack, MD, FACR
J. William Charboneau, MD, FACR
Deborah Levine, MD, FACR