(internal podalic version) a procedure in which the position of a fetus in the uterus is altered so that its feet will emerge first at birth. It is used mainly to deliver a second twin that is presenting transversely or obliquely. See also cephalic version.
The name given to an operation in OBSTETRICS which consists in turning the FETUS in the UTERUS where the fetus is lying in an abnormal position which may make eventual delivery di?cult. In particular, version (which can take place spontaneously) may be done on a fetus between the 34th and 37th weeks of pregnancy when its buttocks rather than its head are positioned at the cervical end of the uterus. The procedure carries a small risk of precipitating premature labour, and it is not always successful, in which case a breech delivery is attempted or, in di?cult cases, a CAESAREAN SECTION is performed. (See also PREGNANCY AND LABOUR.)... version
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