ORIGINAL ARTICLE 826 P J M H S Vol. 9, NO. 3, JUL – SEP 2015 Uterine Length and Ovarian Volume in Healthy girls of 1-13 years of age HAFIZA SAIMA NASEEM, AZHAR MAHMOOD JAVED, IRUM ASLAM, MARIA ZAHOOR, SADIA SADIQ ABSTRACT Aim: To study uterine length and ovarian volume in healthy girls of age group 1-13 years. Study design: a cross sectional study Place and duration of study: Department of Radiology Children Hospital & Institute of Child Health, Multan. Six months from April 2014-September 2014. Methods: Five hundred girls of the age group from 1-13 years were selected randomly with no history suggestive of any uterine or ovarian problemand their uterine length and ovarian volume were taken and correlated with ageand puberty. As regard to pubertal stage they were classified according to Tanner classification of breast into Prepubertal: Tanner stage 1 and Pubertal: from 2-5 Tanner stage. Conclusion: uterine length and ovarian volume correlate positively with chronological age and puberty. Ovaries are mostly homogenous or microcystic in prepuberty girls and multifollicular pattern is more common in girls with puberty changes. Keywords: ovarian volume ,uterine length, puberty,BMI, chronological age. INTRODUCTION The knowledge of developmental changes that take place in the female reproductive organs is essential in the investigationof pelvic conditions in children andteenagers. Imaging methods can facilitatethe achievement of a correct diagnosis 1 .Ultrasonography (US) remains the most useful modality used in pediatric and adolescent gynecology and often the only one necessary prior to therapeutic intervention 2 .The principle of ultrasound involves the use of high- frequency (5-8MHz) sound waves todetect the interface of two tissues with different densities. Energy beam reflected is basedon the density of the tissue and converted into two- or three- dimensional images. The transabdominal probe is most widely used in pediatric gynecology and suffices for most indications. Abdominal sonographic imaging requires an adequately distended urinary bladderwhich allows transmissions of sound into deeper structures of the pelvis and displace gas- filled bowel loops out of the pelvis allowing easier identification of theuterus and ovaries 3 . Ovarian and uterine growth patterns during childhood and puberty are not completely understood. Also, no consensus exists about the normal measures and morphologic appearance of the ovaries. This may be attributed to the methodological limitations of most studies, such as small sample size, inclusion of both pubertal and prepubertal girls --------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Radiology, Children Hospital and Institute Of Child Health, Multan Correspondence to Dr. Hafiza Saima Naseem Email: drcymatariq@gmail.com in the same analysis, lack of statistical analyses, and use of formulae associated with logarithmic transformation the application of which is not practical 4 . Main indications for pelvic ultrasonography in children and teenagers are the following: either early or late puberty, pelvicpain or tumor, ambiguous genitalia, vaginal bleeding in children, and primary amenorrhea. The prepubertal uterus is thin, with the uterine body similar in size to thecervix. Because of the hormone stimulationthat takes place in the puberty, the uterusgrows and the uterine body becomesprominent. In addition, although cystic ovarian structures arealso commonly observed on sonography, the classification of these structures is confusing and nonuniform. The aim of our study was to correlate ovarian volume and uterine length as observed on sonography with chronologic age and breast pubertal status according to tanner stage. METHODOLOGY It was a prospective study in which apparently healthy girls of 1 to 13 years of age were selected randomly. There detailed history was taken and complete examination was carried out to rule out any chronic medical disease or genetic factors which can interfere with normal growth and puberty. Proper permission was taken from institutional ethical committee to conduct the study. Informed consent was taken from each patient describing them procedures of the study ensuring confidentiality and fact that there was no risk involved to the patient while taking part in this study. All girls were subjected