Certified Medical Magazine by WMA, ACSA, HON
What is nuchal translucency?
55
0

What is nuchal translucency?

Nuchal translucency is an ultrasound performed on pregnant women to measure the sonolucent or echolucent space at the back of the fetus' neck, that is, the thickening of the nuchal fold. This measurement is performed between 11 and 14 weeks of gestation, although the most common is at week 12.

The measurement of nuchal translucency is a good marker for the diagnosis of Down syndrome. Values higher than 1/250 would indicate risk of alteration and it would be advisable to perform complementary tests such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling.