ABSTRACT
Three-dimensional ultrasound was introduced in clinical use more than a decade ago. Early attempts in obstetrics were directed at surface rendering of the fetal anatomy, mostly of the face, to detect or exclude fetal anomalies. Recently, several papers have discussed fetal volumetry calculated by three-dimensional ultrasound, which has helped greatly to construct the normal ranges for fetal organ volumes, and which improves fetal weight prediction. According to recent literature, more and more fetal anomalies are diagnosed based only on the findings of three-dimensional ultrasound. However, the role of three-dimensional ultrasound in genetic screening and counselling is still undetermined. In this review, we try to address the capability of three-dimensional ultrasound in a number of anatomic areas, to catalog possible markers in the second-trimester genetic sonogram, and finally to introduce the merits of three-dimensional ultrasound in genetic counselling.