feto-, fet-, feti-, foeto-, foet- +

(Latin: an unborn offspring, fetus)

fetometry (s) (noun), fetometries (pl)
Estimation of the size of the foetus, particularly the diameter of its head: Before the birth of June's daughter, an ultrasound was performed and Dr. Timmons told June that the fetometry was within the normal range for her daughter's development.
fetopathy (s) (noun), fetopathies (pl)
1. A morbid condition in the embryo or fetus; embryopathy: Fetopathy is a disorder caused by an abnormal embryonic development resulting in congenital irregularities.
2. A disease in a fetus in the beginning of a mother's pregnancy: Fetopathy can arise between the middle of the first month and the end of the third month of intrauterine growth of the unborn baby and can be caused by a genetic disturbance, by poisoning, or by an infectious illness.
fetoplacental (adjective), more fetoplacental, most fetoplacental
A reference to the fetus and the placenta: The fetoplacental circulation involves the umbilical cord and the blood vessels inside the placenta.
fetoprotein (s) (noun), fetoproteins (pl)
An antigen present in the human fetus and in certain unhealthy conditions in adults: Sometimes fetoproteins can occur in grown-ups when they have cancer.

The amniotic fluid level can be used to assess fetal development. Increased serum levels are found in adults with certain kinds of liver diseases.

fetoscope, foetoscope (s) (noun); fetoscopes; fetoscopes (pl)
1. A flexible tubular fiberoptic instrument used for diagnostic examination of the fetus and interior of the uterus: Dr. Thompson used a fetoscope, or endoscope, to view Mary's unborn baby and to see the inside of the uterus
2. A stethoscope placed on a pregnant woman's abdomen to listen for the fetal heartbeat: Jackie wanted to have a fetoscope in order to listen to her baby's heart beat
fetoscopic, foetoscopic (adjective) (not comparable)
1. Pertaining to a fetoscope: The operation took a few hours in which the doctors used a fetoscopic device, which is a little telescope with a camera and light, to enter the opening in Susan’s abdomen.
2. Concerning a type of stethoscope used to hear a fetal heartbeat: Mary was so happy that she had a fetoscopic instrument to listen to her little unborn baby's heart beat any time she wanted to!
fetoscopist (s) (noun), fetoscopists (pl)
A medical specialist who uses an optical device to view the fetus: Dr. Dawson, the fetoscopist, was an expert in producing excellent fetoscopies, and wanted to view Mrs. Black's unborn baby, and so he used a special device which was flexible and made of fiberoptic materials, termed a "fetoscope".
fetoscopy (s) (noun), fetoscopies (pl)
A procedure that allows the examination of a fetus in a mother's uterus: The method of fetoscopy is done rarely now and has been succeeded by percutaneous umbilical blood sampling.
fetotoxic (adjective), more fetotoxic, most fetotoxic
A reference to anything that is poisonous to the fetus: Elements considered potentially fetotoxic include alcohol, morphine, cocaine, salicylates (salt or ester of salicylic acid), coumarin anticoagulants (one of a group of natural and synthetic compounds that antagonize the biosynthesis of vitamin K), sedatives, tetracyclines (group of broad-spectrum antibiotics), thiazides (diuretics primarily in the treatment of hypertension), tobacco smoke, and excessive doses of vitamin K.

fetotoxicity (s) (noun) (not countable)
An injury to the fetus through the placenta: Fetotoxicity can occur when a poisonous substance enters the reproductive structure and its circulation and therefore may cause death or retardation of growth and development.
fetus in fetu (s) (noun), foetuses in fetu (pl)
The condition of one unborn baby or fertilised egg inside another one, or a tumor-like development:

Fetus in fetu is one in which one twin fails to develop past the fetal stage and is completely subsumed into the body of the other. Generally, it's fetus in fetu if the fetus develops a reasonable skeleton, but sometimes there are just bits and pieces of fetus bodies that are subsumed into an otherwise healthy baby.

Fetus in fetu is a surgical pathological curiosity, wherein a vertebrate fetus is included within the abdomen of its partner. Masses containing bones, cartilage, teeth, central nervous system tissue, fat and muscle may be found in the abdomen of newborns and children and termed "teratomas". They are defined as fetus in fetu if there is a recognized trunk and limbs, seemingly an abortive twinning.

Another description states that fetus in fetu describes an extremely rare abnormality that involves a fetus getting trapped inside its twin. It continues to survive as a parasite even past birth by forming an umbilical cord-like structure that leeches its twin's blood supply until it grows so large that it starts to harm the host, at which point doctors usually intervene.

Invariably the parasitic fetus is anencephalic (without a brain) and lacks internal organs, and as such, is unable to survive on its own, though it may have almost human features, although underdeveloped and bizarre, such as limbs, digits, hair, nails and teeth.

Fetus in fetu was coined by Johann Friedrich Meckel in the early nineteenth century. It is an extremely rare condition estimated to occur once in 500,000 deliveries.

fetus, foetus (s) (noun); foetuses; feti; foetuses; foeti (pl)
1. The unborn human baby when the major structures have formed: In female people, the fetus, or baby in utero, is the product of conception from the end of the eighth week to the moment of birth. Before that time, it is called an embryo.
2. The unborn young of a viviparous animal: The fetus in creatures is the embryonic period in the later stages of development when the body structures are in their recognizable forms for their species.

The fetus pertains to the latter stages of the developing young of a fauna within the uterus or within an egg.

oncofetal (adjective) (not comparable)
Pertaining to fetuses and tumors: Such onocofetal antigens are related or linked to tumor formation and exist in fetal tissue.

Related "birth, born, childbirth, offspring" words: abort-; lochio-; nasc-, nat-; proli-; toco-, toko-.