Ultrasonic assessment of liver size in the newborn

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Abstract
In 141 newborn infants ultrasonic measurement of liver area was performed on the third postnatal day. The liver area was represented by a cross section of the liver at the level where the portal vein entered the organ. There was a linear increase in liver area from 26.8 cm2 at 37 weeks' gestation to 33.0 cm2 at 41 weeks' gestation. Measurement of liver area does not provide more accurate information on fetal size than upper abdominal circumference in the last weeks of pregnancy. Measurement of fetal head circumference is distinctly less accurate in the assessment of fetal size.