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.
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FONTANELS OF INFANT SKULL

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