to major mental, physical and developmental disorders (Lewis,113)". Children .
with an alcohol related disorder may or may not have physical defects and .
because of this most go undetected at birth. "Although after birth there are ways .
of detecting fetal alcohol syndrome and that is by neuroimaging techiques such .
as computer tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)(Noll, 196)". .
For example, recent studies suggest that well documented cases of FAS may .
show a variety of abnormalities, such as callosal dysgenesis, agenesis or .
cerebellar hypoplasia. Further, MRI and CT can also provide a precise .
quantitative measure of brain volume, permitting more accurate and clinically .
meaningful assessment of microcephaly. "Nonetheless, this technology is young, .
and consequently, the role of such ancillary measure is also controversial, and .
their utility in making a diagnosis of FAS is yet to be established (Stratton, 69)". .
The pre-natal world of the fetus while cradled in the mother's womb is sustained .
in a well-protected enviroment, although not immuned to the influences of it's .
external enviroment. "Fetal alcohol syndrome which was first observed by .
Lemoine and was later coined by Jones and Smith in seattle as the "fetal alcohol .
syndrome (FAS). In a broad sense FAS may be viewed as a repercussion of an .
external enviromental influence on the internal physiological enviroment of the .
developing fetus (Statton, et.al,17)". "The terms FAS and FAE are not restricted .
to the fetal stage as the names denote. .
Alcohol has a deletrious affect on the fetus starting from conception. The fetal .
stage begins around days 46 - 48 when the first .
true bone cells replace cartillage. The period beginning around the 8th week .
after conception to birth may be viewed as the fetal stage. The embryonic stage .
is the early period between weeks 2 - 8 after conception. This stage is marked by .
cell development or the structural stage in human development.