Bone: Frontal suture
Frontal bone. Outer surface. ("Remains of frontal suture" identified at center.)
Skull at birth, showing frontal and occipital fonticuli.
Latin	sutura frontalis
Gray's	subject #46 178

The frontal suture is a dense connective tissue structure that divides the two halves of the frontal bone of the skull in infants and children. It usually disappears by the age of six, with the two halves of the frontal bone being fused together. If it does not disappear it may be called a "metopic suture" or "sutura frontalis persistens." If the suture is not present at birth (craniosynostosis) it will cause a keel-shaped deformity of the skull called "trigonocephaly."

It is present in a fetal skull so that the skull can bend and is very elastic at the time of birth. The baby's head literally bends when coming out of the mother's womb. The space is filled as the child grows older.

[edit] See also

• Ossification of frontal bone

[edit] References

• "Frontal Suture." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000). (Stedman's/LWW 1570345
• Moore, Keith L. and T.V.N. Persaud. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th ed. (2003).
• pediatric plastic surgery, mathes and Hetz. chapter 92; nonsyndromic craniostosis.

  Calvaria (Diploë) Asterion · Pterion · Stephanion · Bregma · Lambda Fossae: anterior cranial fossa · middle cranial fossa · posterior cranial fossa · cranial cavity Base of skull Fontanelles: anterior ·posterior ·sphenoidal ·mastoid v • d • e Bones of head and neck: compound structures of skull (TA A02.1.00.002-052, GA 2.178-199) Neurocranium Facial skeleton Nasion · Gonion Both dacryon · zygomatic arch · temporal fossa · infratemporal fossa · pterygomaxillary fissure · pterygopalatine fossa Orbit: Foramina (inferior orbital fissure)

  v • d • e Bones of head and neck, joints: cranial fibrous joints (A03.1.01-03, GA 2.178-199) Cranial sutures Cranial: frontoethmoidal · frontal or metopic (frontal/frontal) · coronal (frontal/parietal) · occipitomastoid (occipital/temporal) · lambdoid (parietal/temporal) · sagittal (parietal/parietal) · sphenoethmoidal · sphenofrontal · sphenoparietal · sphenosquamosal (sphenoid/temporal) · sphenopetrosal (sphenoid/temporal) · squamosal (temporal/parietal) · petrosquamous (temporal/temporal) Facial: palatomaxillary suture Cranial–facial: sphenozygomatic · zygomaticotemporal · zygomaticofrontal Cranial syndesmoses Pterygospinous ligament · Stylohyoid ligament Dento-alveolar syndesmosis Gomphosis