Developmental features of the brain in preterm and fullterm infants on MR imaging

Abstract Normal development and maturation in pre- and postnatal periods were studied using MR imaging. For this purpose, we performed MR imaging at a postmenstrual age of 37–44 weeks in both low-risk preterm and fullterm infants and assessed the myelination pattern and the dimension of the pituitary gland, corpus callosum, pons and cerebellar vermis. There were no differences in stages of myelination and the size of these structures in both groups. MR imaging was also performed in infants with various cerebral injuries. Focal or diffuse areas of hyperintensity on T 2 -weighted images and delayed myelination were the commonly observed abnormal findings in these infants.