amniocentesis
The withdrawal through a hollow needle of a sample of the fluid, called amniotic fluid, surrounding a fetus in the uterus by piercing the amniotic sac through the abdominal wall, under direct ultrasound guidance. As the amniotic fluid contains cells from the fetus (mostly shed from the skin), cell cultures enable chromosome patterns to be studied so that prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities (such as Down's syndrome) can be made. Certain metabolic errors and other abnormalities, such as spina bifida, can also be diagnosed prenatally from analysis of the cells or of the fluid.
Amniocentesis is usually performed at any time from the 15th completed week of gestation.
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