Ultrasonographic fetal scapular length measurement for assessment of gestational age

one of the major goals of antenatal care is estimation of gestational age.the most widely used parameters for evaluation of fetal growth are biparietal diameter (BPD),femoral length (FL) and adbominal circumference (AC).to determine the value of prenatal ultrasonographic scapula measurements for fetal growth and gesattional age a prospective ultrasonographic cross-sectional study was conducted in 220 singlton pregnant women with gestational age from 16-40 weeks and several biometric measurements were  obtained.Acorrelation was found between the scapular length and gestational age (GA)(r=0.974,p<0.00001) and also between GA and BPD(r=0.974,p<0.00001),AC (r=0.967,p<0.00001),FL(r=0.966,p<0.00001).linear regression model was detected the following equation for prediction of GA from SL:"GA(week)=0.998 SL(mm)+0.985".these results suggest that scapula length measurement is a valuable parameter for the assessement of fetal growth.