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This is a CT of the abdomen and pelvis in

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a patient with a third-trimester pregnancy.

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Now I'd like to point out that

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the portal veins and the abdominal

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vasculature are bright in these images.

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We have given intravenous iodinated CT

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contrast to this patient because she

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was imaged in the context of trauma.

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This is the gravid uterus, and similar to

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the MR images that we looked at, we can

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see the layer of myometrium throughout.

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This heterogeneously enhancing structure

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anteriorly is the placenta, and we can see

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the fetus here again in cephalic presentation.

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On the sagittal images, we

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can also evaluate the cervix.

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This is the anterior lip and posterior lip.

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The cervical canal does not have any fluid

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within it, and the cervical os is closed.

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I'd like to point out some of the features

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of the fetus that are more apparent

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on the CT than they may have been on

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some of the MR images that we looked at.

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We can very clearly see this hypodense layer

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of fat within the fetal subcutaneous tissues.

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CT is also great for evaluation

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of the fetal osseous structures.

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And so they'll appear very

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bright, hyperdense on CT.

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In the context of trauma, it is important to

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also evaluate the fetal osseous structures

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if there's evidence of maternal injury.

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We do sometimes detect fetal

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fractures on CT as well.

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This is a coronal CT image of the

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abdomen and pelvis in the same patient.

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Again, we can see the enlarged gravid uterus.

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This heterogeneously enhancing structure

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is the predominantly anterior placenta.

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And again, we see the fetus in

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cephalic presentation, head down.

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I'd also like to point out again the lateral

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displacement of the bowel and some of the

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abdominal viscera by the enlarged uterus.