CT of the normal brain in preterm infants.

Abstract

Twenty-two normal preterm and 10 full-term infants were studied by cranial computed tomography. The study included correlation of the gestational age and birth weight to the ventricular size, brain size, and the area of the sylvian fissure. The most relevant parameters were the bifrontal diameter, bifrontal index, and the transverse diameter of the brain. The incidence of visualization of the sylvian fissure diminished with gestational age. Density measurements revealed the high cortical sections had a higher average density than the whole brain sections. The parietooccipital region showed an increasing average attenuation during the preterm period until term.