Critical Growth Processes for the Midfacial Morphogenesis in the Early Prenatal Period

Background:Congenital midfacial hypoplasia often requires intensive treatments and is a typical condition for the Binder phenotype and syndromic craniosynostosis. The growth trait of the midfacial skeleton during the early fetal period has been assumed to be critical for such an anomaly. However, previous embryological studies using 2-dimensional analyses and specimens during the late fetal period have not been sufficient to reveal it.Objective:To understand the morphogenesis of the midfacial skeleton in the early fetal period via 3-dimensional quantification of the growth trait and investigation of the developmental association between the growth centers and midface.Methods:Magnetic resonance images were obtained from 60 human fetuses during the early fetal period. Three-dimensional shape changes in the craniofacial skeleton along growth were quantified and visualized using geometric morphometrics. Subsequently, the degree of development was computed. Furthermore, the developmental association between th...