|
Fontanelle
The soft spot on the top of the head. At birth the skull is made of up of several plates of bone- it is not a single, solid bone. The spaces between the bone plates allow the skull to expand as the brain grows. Where four of these bony skull plates come together it forms a soft spot in the skull called a fontanelle. There is no bone in these soft spots, making these areas softer than the surrounding areas. There are usually two soft spots in the skull of a newborn, the anterior and the posterior fontanelle. The posterior fontanelle will close by about 2 months of age. The anterior fontanelle usually closes between 9 and 18 months of age. Fontanelles that close either too early or too late can be a problem. Your doctor will examine your child for abnormalities of the fontanelle during routine exams.
|
|
|
