Fetus at Gestational Week 22

Description

Curled within the amniotic cavity, the conceptus is rendered in a typical flexed fetal posture at gestational week 22, with the head oriented inferiorly and the spine forming a gentle C shape. Facial contours are defined in profile, while the upper limbs lie close to the thorax and the hips, knees, and ankles remain flexed, bringing the feet toward the pelvis. A spiraled umbilical cord courses from the fetal umbilicus to the fetal surface of the placenta, where branching chorionic vessels spread across the disc. Scale is consistent with mid second trimester proportions. Week 22 sits at the border of periviability, so surface anatomy and fetal-placental relationships carry real teaching weight when counseling and when interpreting obstetric imaging. The cord’s helical course and its insertion into the placenta are the landmarks you correlate with ultrasound assessment of cord insertion variants (marginal or velamentous) and with complications such as vasa previa or fetal growth restriction. Even in a stylized 3D setting, the spatial relationship of fetus, cord, and placenta mirrors what clinicians track when documenting presentation, placental location, and cord anatomy. A practical developmental snapshot. Use this artwork for embryology and obstetrics lectures covering second trimester development, for patient education materials explaining placental function and umbilical cord anatomy, or for publishing figures that need a clear fetal profile without the abstraction of schematic diagrams. It also fits well in neonatology and maternal-fetal medicine content discussing viability thresholds and fetal assessment milestones. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.