Preterm infants with IUGR are more likely to have bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease that is thought to be associated with prolonged use of mechanical ventilation. Neurological
IUGR is associated with long-term motor deficits and cognitive impairment. In order to adapt to the chronic hypoxia associated with placental insufficiency, blood flow is redirected to the brain to try to preserve brain growth and development as much as possible. Even though this is thought to be protective, fetuses with IUGR who have undergone this brain-sparing adaptation have worse neurological outcomes compared with those who have not undergone this adaptation.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect changes in volume and structural development of infants with IUGR compared with those whose growth is appropriate for gestational age (AGA). But MRI is not easily accessible for all patients.White matter effects – In postpartum studies of infants, it was shown that there was a decrease of the fractal dimension of the white matter in IUGR infants at one year corrected age. This was compared to at term and preterm infants at one year adjusted corrected age.Grey matter effects – Grey matter was also shown to be decreased in infants with IUGR at one year corrected age.Children with IUGR are often found to exhibit brain reorganization including neural circuitry. Reorganization has been linked to learning and memory differences between children born at term and those born with IUGR.Studies have shown that children born with IUGR had lower IQ.
Female
In the human female, the urethra is about 4 cm long, and exits the body between the clitoris and the vagina, extending from the internal to the external urethral orifice. The meatus is located below the clitoris. It is placed behind the symphysis pubis, embedded in the anterior wall of the vagina, and its direction is obliquely downward and forward; it is slightly curved with the concavity directed forward. The proximal two-thirds of the urethra is lined by transitional epithelial cells, while the distal third is lined by stratified squamous epithelial cells.Between the superior and inferior fascia of the urogenital diaphragm, the female urethra is surrounded by the urethral sphincter. Microanatomy
The cells lining the urethra (the epithelium) start off as transitional cells as it exits the bladder, which are variable layers of flat to cuboidal cells that change shape depending on whether they are compressed by the contents of the urethra. Further along the urethra there are pseudostratified columnar and stratified columnar epithelia. The lining becomes multiple layers of flat cells near the end of the urethra, which is the same as the external skin around it.There are small mucus-secreting urethral glands, as well as bulbo-urethral glands of Cowper, that secret mucous acting to lubricate the urethra.The urethra consists of three coats: muscular, erectile, and mucous, the muscular layer being a continuation of that of the bladder. Blood and nerve supply and lymphatics
Somatic (conscious) innervation of the external urethral sphincter is supplied by the pudendal nerve.