Definition of Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP)
Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) definition - medical term
The
presence of AFP, a plasma protein normally produced by the fetus, in
the mother's blood. MSAFP serves as the basis for some
valuable tests.
AFP is manufactured principally in the
fetus's liver and, also, in the fetal gastrointestinal (GI) tract and
the yolk sac, a structure temporarily present during embryonic
development. The level of AFP is typically high in the fetus's blood,
goes down in the baby's blood after birth, and by a year of age is virtually
undetectable.
During pregnancy, AFP crosses the placenta from the fetal
circulation and appears in the mother's blood. The level of AFP in
the mother's blood (the maternal serum AFP) provides a screening test
for a number of disorders including:
Open neural tube defects (anencephaly and spina
bifida); and
Down syndrome (and other chromosome abnormalities).
The maternal serum AFP (MSAFP) tends to be:
High with open neural tube
defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida (meningomyelocele); and
Low with Down syndrome (trisomy 21, an extra chromosome number
21).
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