MECONIUM AND AMNIOTIC
FLUID |
Meconium is the residue of swallowed cellular debris, cells sloughed along the fetal gastrointestinal tract and secretions from the hepato-biliary system. While residing in the terminal colon and rectum, meconium has a semisolid paste-like consistency. When expelled into the amniotic cavity it slowly breaks up and distributes as particles of varying size throughout the amniotic fluid. Meconium accumulates in the distal colon and rectum with advancing gestation and may actually distend these structures at term.
The distribution of meconium within the fetal gut has been advocated as a means of assessment of fetal age, however this is not a specific sign and is rarely used in clinical practice.
Little is known about the regulation and control of peristalsis and why meconium moves along the gut to the rectum but is not usually expelled. Why the distal colon is so inactive prior to birth is unknown as most newborns pass meconium shortly after birth, and most fetal organs systems function in utero (1).
ULTRASOUND |
Link to Ultrasound of Meconium.
Echogenic meconium due to the passage of meconium in utero. This was the pump twin of an acardiac twin pregnancy that became stressed at 39 wks GA
REFERENCES |