Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In anatomy, a suture is a fairly rigid joint between two or more hard elements of an organism, with or without significant overlap of the elements. [ 1 ] Sutures are found in the skeletons or exoskeletons of a wide range of animals, in both invertebrates and vertebrates .
Premature complete ossification of these sutures is called craniosynostosis. In Latin, the word calvaria is used as a feminine noun with plural calvariae ; however, many medical texts incorrectly list the word as calvarium , a neuter Latin noun with plural calvaria .
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.
The cranial bones are joined at firm fibrous junctions called sutures and contains many foramina, fossae, processes, and sinuses. In zoology, the openings in the skull are called fenestrae, the most prominent of which is the foramen magnum, where the brainstem goes through to join the spinal cord.
Cranial height is defined as the distance between the bregma and the midpoint of the foramen magnum (the basion). [6] This is strongly linked to more general growth. [6] This can be used to assess the general health of a deceased person as part of an archaeological excavation, giving information on the health of a population.
In the living tuatara and some lizards, as well as in many fossil tetrapods, a small opening, the parietal foramen (also called the pineal foramen), is present between the two parietal bones at the midline of the skull. This opening is the location of the parietal eye (also called the pineal or third eye), which is much smaller than the two ...
The open portion between the major bones of the upper part of the vault, called fontanelles, normally remain soft up to two years after birth. As the fontanelles close, the vault loses some of its plasticity. The sutures between the bones remain until 30 to 40 years of age, allowing for growth of the brain. Cranial vault size is directly ...
If the suture is not present at birth because both frontal bones have fused (craniosynostosis), it will cause a keel-shaped deformity of the skull called trigonocephaly. Its presence in a fetal skull, along with other cranial sutures and fontanelles , provides a malleability to the skull that can facilitate movement of the head through the ...