Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Besides giving information on fetal well-being, amniocentesis makes it possible to test for various congenital anomalies via biochemical analysis of amniotic fluid and tissue culture chromosome studies of fetal cells (see Chapter 34). In addition, certain substances of fetal origin may appear in maternal serum. In some cases it is possible to detect certain fetal […]

Fetal liver produces an alpha-1 globulin called “alpha fetoprotein” (AFP), which becomes the dominant fetal serum protein in the first trimester, reaching a peak at 12 weeks, then declining to 1% of the peak at birth. By age 1 year, a much greater decrease has occurred. Primary liver cell carcinomas (hepatomas) were found to produce […]