Fontanelle

Fontanelle
Fontanelle
	The skull at birth, showing the anterior and posterior fontanelles
	The skull at birth, showing the lateral fontanelles
Details
Identifiers
Latin	fonticuli cranii
MeSH	D055762
TA98	A02.1.00.027
TA2	431
FMA	75437
	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.

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

[TheFreeDictionary-1] "fontanelle". TheFreeDictionary. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

[CARTA-2] Beasley, Melanie. "Age of Closure of Fontanelles / Sutures". Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA). Retrieved 24 April 2013.

[1]

[2]