Medico-Legal Update
  • Year: 2014
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue: 1

Foot Length and Hand Length: Most Reliable Parameters to Estimate the Gestational Age

  • Author:
  • Sachin Sudarshan Patil1,, Ramesh Nanaji Wasnik2, Ravindra Baliram Deokar3,, Rajesh Baburao Sukhadeve4, Pawan Ramrao Tekade5
  • Total Page Count: 7
  • DOI:
  • Page Number: 144 to 150

1Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. hospital, Parel, Mumbai

2Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Forensic Medicine, Late B.R.K.Government Medical College, Jagdalpur, District - Bastar, Chhattisgarh

3Assistant Professor & Medicolegal In-charge, Department of Forensic Medicine, Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. hospital, Parel, Mumbai

4Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. hospital, Parel, Mumbai

5Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Late B.R.K.Government Medical College, Jagdalpur, District - Bastar, Chhattisgarh

*Corresponding author: Sachin Sudarshan Patil, Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Seth G.S. Medical College & K.E.M. hospital, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Contact No. 9757179483. E- mail: - drsach_patil7@rediffmail.com

**E- mail: - ravideo80@gmail.com

Online published on 20 February, 2014.

Abstract

Estimation of gestational age of fetus is of great medicolegal significance. As the civilization developed the laws related to prevent abortions, sexual assaults and illegal pregnancy came forth. The need to know the age of the abortus was indispensible in such cases. The objective of the present study is to determine the accuracy in estimating gestational age using hand and foot length.

The present study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur having sample size of 100 foetuses. Fetal foot length and hand length were measured and regression analysis was used for analyzing the collected data.

A statistically significant linear relationship was observed between fetal foot length (FL) and gestational age (GA) [r = 0.996, p < 0.0001] and also statistically significant linear relationship found between fetal hand length (HL) and gestational age (GA) [r = 0.985, p < 0.0001]

Foot length and hand length of the fetuses has shown a highly significant correlation with gestational age, which reflects the accuracy of this study. Thus it can serve as highly reliable parameter in the assessment of gestational age.

Keywords

Foetus, Gestational Age Estimation, Foot Length, Hand Length