sphenoid fontanel
Noun: - An anatomical gap in a baby's skull: The sphenoid fontanel is one of the soft, membranous spots (fontanels) on an infant's skull where several cranial bones have not yet fully fused. It is located on each side of the head, at the junction of the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones. This area later hardens into a junction known as the pterion once the bones ossify.
The term is used specifically in medical, anatomical, and pediatric contexts to describe a normal developmental feature of the human skull in infancy. - The pediatrician checked the infant's sphenoid fontanel during the routine examination. - In human anatomy, the sphenoid fontanel is the last of the fontanels to close.
- Clinical assessment: The sphenoid fontanel, like other fontanels, can provide clinical signs. A sunken fontanel may indicate dehydration, while a bulging fontanel can be a sign of increased intracranial pressure.
- A bulging sphenoid fontanel is a less common but serious clinical finding that requires immediate evaluation.
- Fontanel (or fontanelle) (n): The general term for any soft, fibrous spot between the unfused bones of an infant's skull. The sphenoid fontanel is one specific type.
- Anterior fontanel (n): The larger, diamond-shaped soft spot at the top front of an infant's head.
- Posterior fontanel (n): The smaller, triangular soft spot at the back of an infant's head.
- Pterion (n): The anatomical landmark on the side of the skull where the frontal, parietal, temporal, and sphenoid bones meet in an adult, corresponding to the closed sphenoid fontanel.
- Sphenoidal fontanelle: An alternative spelling.
- Lateral fontanel: A more general descriptive term, as it is located on the side of the skull.
This term has a single, highly specific anatomical meaning. It does not have idiomatic or phrasal verb uses. Its primary function is as a precise medical term.
- 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 ossified