Fontanelle

Fontanelle
The skull at birth, showing the anterior and posterior fontanelles
The skull at birth, showing the lateral fontanelles
Details
Identifiers
Latinfonticuli cranii
MeSHD055762
TA98A02.1.00.027
TA2431
FMA75437
Anatomical terminology

A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membranous gaps (sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant.[1] Fontanelles allow for stretching and deformation of the neurocranium both during birth and later as the brain expands faster than the surrounding bone can grow.[2] Premature complete ossification of the sutures is called craniosynostosis.

After infancy, the anterior fontanelle is known as the bregma.

  1. ^ "fontanelle". TheFreeDictionary. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  2. ^ Beasley, Melanie. "Age of Closure of Fontanelles / Sutures". Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA). Retrieved 24 April 2013.