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Fontanel
Fontanel The soft spots on a baby's head that, during birth, enable the soft bony plates of the skull to flex, allowing the head to pass through the birth canal. Fontanels are completely hardened by a child's second birthday.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Skull
The bony framework of the head.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Fontana doctors
All doctors near Fontana, the United States of America. Doctors who can assist a patient in Fontana.
Fontanel (fontanelle)
The medical term fontanel is a "soft spot" of the skull. The "soft spot" is soft precisely because the cartilage there has not yet hardened into bone between the skull bones. There are normally two fontanels, both in the midline of the skull, one (the anterior fontanel) well in front of the other (the posterior fontanel). The posterior fontanel closes first, at latest by the age of 8 weeks in a full-term baby. The anterior fontanel closes at 18 months of age on the average but it can close normally as early as 9 months. If fontanels close too early or too late, that may be a sign of a problem.
Fontanelle
A soft spot in the skull of an infant formed by the normal separation between the bony plates of the skull.
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Fontanel
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