Abstract:
Background: The fetal viability till the birth moment and subsequent development of a child depend on the features of the processes of human prenatal
development. The embryogenesis and formation of structures of the central nervous system are of the crucial importance in the chain of processes of
prenatal period.
Material and methods: The spinal cord of human fetuses aged 35-36 weeks of fetal development was studied with the help of anatomical, common
histological, morphometric and statistical methods. Causes of stillbirths as a result of diseases of CNS structures were excluded.
Results: As a result of this work morphometric parameters of the structures of the spinal cord segments were established. The topography of gray and white
matter was studied. The groups of neurons in the cervical thoracic, lumbar and sacral parts of the spinal cord, as well as the nature of their differentiation
were investigated. Specific properties of the histological structure of the ependymal (matrix) layer and its share in the gray matter were established.
Conclusions: Segments that make up the cervical and lumbosacral thickenings have the greatest morphometric parameters. Lower sacral segments have
the lowest parameters. The area of white matter prevails over the area of the gray matter, with the exception of the sacral segments. Motor neurons
are the largest and most differentiated, after them associative neurons, autonomic neurons being the smallest and less differentiated. Tht thickness of
ependymal (matrix) layer of all segments decreases in the dorsal direction, the thickness of the basal membrane varies depending on the part of spinal cord.
