Anterior fontanelle

Anterior fontanelle

Infobox Anatomy
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Latin = f. anterior
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GrayPage = 196


Caption = Skull at birth, showing frontal and occipital fonticuli.


Caption2 = Human anterior fontanelle 1 month
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DorlandsPre = f_12
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The anterior fontanelle (bregmatic fontanelle, frontal fontanelle) is the largest, and is placed at the junction of the sagittal suture, coronal suture, and frontal suture; it is lozenge-shaped, and measures about 4 cm in its antero-posterior and 2.5 cm in its transverse diameter. The fontanelle allows the skull to deform during birth to ease its passage through the birth canal and for expansion of the brain after birth.

While the posterior and lateral fontanelles are obliterated by about six months after birth, the anterior is not completely closed until about the middle of the second year. Full ossification starts in the late twenties and finishes before the age of 50 .

Clinical significance

The anterior fontanelle is useful clinically. Examination of an infant includes palpating the anterior fontanelle. A sunken fontanelle indicates dehydration, whereas a very tense or bulging anterior fontanelle indicates raised intracranial pressure. However, this is not a certain indicator for raised pressure as prolonged crying by the baby may produce the same effect.

ee also

* Bregma

External links

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • anterior fontanelle — noun corresponds to the bregma when bones have ossified • Hypernyms: ↑fontanelle, ↑fontanel, ↑soft spot …   Useful english dictionary

  • anterior fontanelle — fonticulus anterior …   Medical dictionary

  • anterior fontanel — or anterior fontanelle n the fontanel occurring at the meeting point of the coronal and sagittal sutures …   Medical dictionary

  • Fontanelle — A fontanelle (or fontanel) is an anatomical feature on an infant s skull. Fontanelles are soft spots on a baby s head which, during birth, enable the bony plates of the skull to flex, allowing the child s head to pass through the birth canal. The …   Wikipedia

  • fontanelle — One of several membranous intervals at the margins of the cranial bones in the infant. See cranial fontanelles. SYN: fonticulus. [Fr. dim. of fontaine, fountain, spring] anterior f. [NA] a diamond shaped membranous interval at the junction of the …   Medical dictionary

  • fontanelle — n. an opening in the skull of a fetus or young infant due to incomplete ossification of the cranial bones and the resulting incomplete closure of the sutures. The anterior fontanelle occurs where the coronal, frontal, and sagittal sutures meet;… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • Fontanelle — Der Begriff Fontanelle stammt aus der altfranzösischen Sprache und bedeutete dort „kleine Quelle“. Vorwiegend wird Fontanelle heute als medizinisch anatomischer Begriff gebraucht. Fontanelle bezeichnet dabei den noch nicht durch knöcherne oder… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fonticulus anterior — [TA] anterior fontanelle: the unossified area of the skull situated at the junction of the frontal, coronal, and sagittal sutures; called also f. frontalis [major] and frontal fontanelle …   Medical dictionary

  • sphenoid fontanelle — noun the irregularly shaped area on either side of the cranium where the frontal bone and the anterior tip of the parietal bone and the temporal bone and the greater wing of the sphenoid bone meet; corresponds to the pterion when bones have… …   Useful english dictionary

  • sphenoidal fontanelle — noun the irregularly shaped area on either side of the cranium where the frontal bone and the anterior tip of the parietal bone and the temporal bone and the greater wing of the sphenoid bone meet; corresponds to the pterion when bones have… …   Useful english dictionary

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