Detection and significance of main anchoring villus in early pregnancy

OBJECTIVE To find and explore the relationship among the length of the embryo's main anchoring villus and the week of gestation, embryonic crown-rump length (CRL), and maternal blood human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) during early pregnancy using ultrasound. METHODS A total of 108 women with singleton pregnancies underwent ultrasound examination of the fetus during the early months of their pregnancy (5+5 -13+6 weeks of pregnancy). The main anchoring villus was detected using HD-Flow and SlowflowHD mode ultrasound. The detection rate and length of the main anchoring villus were recorded. The correlations among main anchoring villus with gestational weeks, CRL, and blood hCG were obtained. RESULTS The main anchoring villus was detected in all women (108/108). It could be found throughout the early gestational weeks from as early as 4+6 weeks. The length of the main anchoring villus increased with gestational age, and was positively correlated with CRL and the logarithm of hCG (P