Sphenoid Fontanel (Noun)
Meaning
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.
Classification
Nouns denoting body parts.
Examples
- The sphenoid fontanel is the most irregularly shaped area where multiple cranial bones converge during fetal development and early childhood.
- Examination of the sphenoid fontanel during an infant's first few months of life is essential to check for proper closure of the skull.
- Neonatal head circumference measurements are taken below the anterior fontanelle and posterior fontanelle and around a point behind the sphenoid fontanel.
- The greater wings of the sphenoid bone form an anterolateral relationship with the frontal lobe of the brain below the site of the sphenoid fontanel.
- Parietal-temporal and parietal-frontal junctions, meeting at both sides with the greater wing of the sphenoid at the sphenoid fontanel site are critical joints for baby's skull expandability during a growth period.