Thermal effects of prenatal ultrasound exposure on the growth of young-aged oryctolagus cuniculus

Bones are the living tissue that composed of collagen and minerals which can be considered as a framework for a child’s growing body. as ultrasound examination during pregnancy is the most routine procedure,it is worrying that disruption of osteogenesis due to prenatal ultrasound may affect the bone at a young age. this ex-vivo experimental study was conducted using young-aged rabbits,to find the evidence of growth changes related to body length,femoral width and femoral length caused by prenatal ultrasound heating. pregnant new zealand white rabbits were exposed to 30,60 and 90 minutes of prenatal ultrasound at 1st,2nd and 3rd stage of gestation accordingly. operating frequency was between 5 to 9 mhz with a free field ispta of 0.19 w/cm2,mi and ti of 1.0 and 0.2 respectively. offspring were assessed at 1-month and 5-months of life. minimal effects on body length,femoral width and femoral length were observed in both 1-month and 5-months old rabbits. lowest animals’ growth was recorded in the group exposed to ultrasound at the 2nd stage of gestation for 90 minutes. © 2016 penerbit utm press. all rights reserved.