CORRELATION BETWEEN ASCENDING AORTA, PULMONARY TRUNK, AND BRACHIOCEPHALIC TRUNK DIAMETERS DURING FETAL DEVELOPMENT

Introduction: Vascular morphometry plays a key role in diagnosing congenital pathologies and supporting clinical management. Although the diameters of great vessels in adults are well-established, with influences from factors such as age and sex, there remains a gap in the literature regarding their development in fetuses. In particular, the relationship between the diameters of the ascending aorta (AA), pulmonary trunk (PT), and brachiocephalic trunk (BCT) with gestational age and sex, as well as the onset of sexual dimorphism throughout development, remains underexplored. Objective: To investigate the correlation between the diameters of the AA, PT, and BCT with gestational age and sex in human fetuses. Methodology: Thirty-five fetal cadavers (18 male, 17 female), collected between 2012 and 2020 at the Human Anatomy Laboratory of UFS, were analyzed following ethical approval and exclusion of cardiovascular malformations. Gestational age was determined using the hallux-to-calcaneus length method. External diameters of the AA, PT, and BCT were measured with a digital caliper. Data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient to assess associations with gestational age and Student’s t test to compare differences between sexes. Results: Strong positive correlations were found between gestational age and the diameters of the AA (ρ = 0.710), PT (ρ = 0.701), and BCT (ρ = 0.828) (p < 0.001 for all), confirming consistent growth throughout fetal development. No significant differences were found between males and females (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study provides normative fetal data for the AA, PT, and BCT, demonstrating that vessel diameters increase proportionally with gestational age. The absence of sexual dimorphism in the fetal period suggests that postnatal hormonal and environmental factors may contribute to vascular size differences observed later in life. These findings provide clinically relevant reference values for prenatal diagnosis of vascular abnormalities. In addition, enhance understanding of vascular development.