Ovarian characteristics in the fetal period: topographic and morphometric parallels

Abstract

Defects of the urinary system take the 3rd place by their occurrence including 6% of developmental defects of the female reproductive organs. Therefore modern studies in the field of perinatal anatomy are of a special importance. Objective of the study was to determine age peculiarities in the structure and topography of the fetal ovaries as well as similar and different tendencies in changes of the ovarian morphological parameters of the two groups of fetuses, remote in time. The study was conducted in the two groups of human fetuses, 4-10 months of development, 161.0-500.0 mm of the parietal-calcaneal length. The first group consisting of 35 specimens divided into 7 subgroups according to the month of development (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10), was formed with fetuses died during 2017-2019 years. The second group included specimens of fetuses collected during 1970-1990. The obtained results were statistically processed in the licensed statistical package “Statistica 6.0”. The character of distribution for every obtained variation lines, mean values for every sign, standard quadratic deviation, percentile scope of the parameters were evaluated. Reliability of differences in the indices between independent quantitative values was determined by means of Mann-Whitney U-criterion. The conducted study determined that the ascending position of the ovaries in the early fetuses can be considered normal for the given age group, though the topography is indicative of developmental retardation at the late stages of perinatal development. The length of the ovary in both groups increases gradually from the 4th to the 10th month with a certain delay during the 6th month. It might be associated with intensified growth of its parenchyma, and intensive increase of its width and length respectively. The majority of the ovarian parameters of 9-10 month fetuses do not differ reliably, which is indicative of a complete development of the ovarian definite structure at the 9th month of the intrauterine development. Comparison of the parameters of the two groups of fetal specimens, remote in time, is indicative of the fact that in the majority of the parameters they do not differ. Although in modern studies the length of the right ovary in 8-month fetuses, and the length of the left ovary in 7-month fetuses is shorter than that of the archival specimens. Similarly the width of the left ovary in 4-month fetuses appears to be reliably shorter than that of the archival specimens. The thickness of the right ovary of 7 and 10-month modern fetuses is reliably less than that of the appropriate groups of the archival specimens. The thickness of the left ovary of modern fetuses is reliably less than that of the archival specimens during the 10th month. Therefore, a reliable difference was found only in 2 pairs of the parameters included in 42 pairs of the examined morphometric parameters of both groups. It is indicative of inconsiderable changes of these parameters during the period of 27-49 years.