A Review of Fetal Brain Pathology Acquired In Utero

In utero MR imaging is used increasingly often to assist with the diagnosis of fetal brain abnormalities, and this increased use is supported by proved improvements in diagnostic accuracy compared with sonography. Fetal brain pathology may be considered developmental or acquired, though these definitions are simplistic, and there may be overlap between the 2 entities. We presented an analysis of the cases from the MERIDIAN (MR imaging to enhance the diagnosis of fetal developmental brain abnormalities in utero) cohort that fit our definitions of acquired pathologies and provided a pictorial review of the typical imaging appearances as well as provided prevalence data on acquired brain pathology.

Learning Objective: To recognize the acquired pathologies that can commonly be demonstrated with fetal brain MR imaging.