Page 3 - SONO 260 The Fetal Head and Brain

Embryologic Development of the Fetal Brain
¢ By 4.5 weeks the neural plate, the structure that will form the central nervous system, has developed.
¢ The neural plate will give rise to the neural tube, which will become the spine and the brain.
¢ Initially, the brain is separated into three primary vesicles termed the prosencephalon (forebrain), mesencephalon (midbrain), and rhombencephalon (hindbrain).
— These vesicles will continue to develop and form critical brain structures.
— Sonographically, the rhombencephalon may be noted within the fetal cranium during the first trimester.