Bone: Lambdoid suture
Side view of the skull. ('Lambdoidal suture' visible at right.)
Latin	sutura lambdoidea
Gray's	subject #32 132

The lambdoid suture (or lambdoidal suture) is a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint on the posterior aspect of the skull that connects the parietal and temporal bones with the occipital bone.

Its name comes from its lambda-like shape.

[edit] Medical implications

At birth, the bones of the skull do not meet.

If certain bones of the skull grow too fast, then craniosynostosis (premature closure of the sutures) may occur. This can result in skull deformities.

If the lambdoid suture closes too soon on one side, the skull will appear twisted and asymmetrical, a condition called "plagiocephaly."

The lambdoidal suture articulates with the occipital bone and parietal bones

[edit] References

• "Sagittal suture." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000).
• Moore, Keith L., and T.V.N. Persaud. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th ed. (2003).

[edit] External links

• SUNY Figs 22:01-03 (Posterior)
• SUNY Figs 22:03-02 (Lateral)
• Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, at Elsevier 34256.000-2
• Diagram at SUNY/Upstate

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