Major Fontanelles Of The Fetal Skull

The posterior fontanel closes within the first few months of life while the anterior one closes much later.

Major fontanelles of the fetal skull. When the head is flexed well suboccipitobregmatic the biparietal diameter present. Fontanel also spelled fontanelle soft spot in the skull of an infant covered with tough fibrous membrane. There are 2 fontanelles the space between the bones of an infant s skull where the sutures intersect that are covered by tough membranes that protect the underlying soft tissues and brain.

Ninja nerds join us in this video where we show the fetal skull fontanelles through the use of a model. There are two main fontanelles in the fetal skull. After infancy the anterior fontanelle is known as the bregma.

There are six such spots at the junctions of the cranial bones. They allow for molding of the fetal head during passage through the birth canal. Babies have two fontanels.

The anterior and the posterior. A fontanelle is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising any of the soft membranous gaps between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant. Regions areas the skull is divided into 3 parts with obstetrical importance.

And the other 2 with less obstetrical significance is anterolateral sphenoid and posterolateral fontanelles mastoid. There are two fontanelles the space between the bones of an infant s skull where the sutures intersect that are covered by tough membranes. The anterior fontanelle is located towards the front of the head.

Anterior fontanelle also called soft spot. By assessing the landmarks of the fetal skull such as sutures and fontanelles a midwife is able to diagnose the position and attitude of the fetal head in the pelvis and determine the most likely mechanism of labour and mode of delivery. There is one located on the back of the head which is known as the posterior fontanelles.