fontanel, fontanelle

(fŏn″tă-nĕl′ )

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[Fr. fontanelle, little fountain]
Any of the tough, fibrous membranes lying between the bones of the cranial vault of a fetus or infant. Fontanels, colloquially known as soft spots, allow an infant's skull to be compressed during passage through the birth canal. The fontanels ossify generally by age two.

FONTANELS OF INFANT SKULL

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