Other Definitions
fontanelle (dict)
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Fontanelle - This is about the human anatomical feature. For the album by Babes in Toyland, see Fontanelle (album).
| align="center" | | | align="center" | | In human anatomy, a fontanelle is one of two "soft spots" on a newborn human's skull. The skull of a newborn consists of five main bones: two frontal bones, two parietal bones, and one occipital bone. These are joined by fibrous "sutures" which allow movement that facilitates childbirth and brain growth. At birth, there is a small posterior fontanelle, an open area covered by a tough membrane, where the two parietal bones adjoin the occipital bone. This fontanelle usually closes during the first several months of an infant's life. There is also a much larger, diamond-shaped anterior fontanelle, where the two frontal and two parietal bones are adjacent. This fontanelle remains open until about two years of age.
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