fontanelle
pronunciation
How to pronounce fontanelle in British English:
UK [ˌfɒntə'nel]
How to pronounce fontanelle in American English:
US [ˌfɑntə'nel]
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- Noun:
- any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus
Word Origin
- fontanelle (n.)
- also fontanel, 1540s, "hollow between two muscles," from French fontanelle (16c.), from Old French fontenele "small source, fountain, spring; fontanelle," diminutive of fontaine "spring" (see fountain), on analogy of the dent in the earth where a spring arises. In reference to the "hollow" in a baby's skull, it is first recorded 1741.
Example
- 1. This fontanelle is smaller than the anterior fontanelle .
- 2. This fontanelle is smaller than the sphenoidal fontanelle .
- 3. Visualization of fetal cranial sutures and anterior fontanelle : comparison between two - and three-dimensional ultrasound .
- 4. Joint connecting the frontal and parietal bones on each side of the skull ; it ossifies during the growth years ( the anterior fontanelle closes up ) .
- 5. Fontanelle closure 1 generally refers to the brain dysplasia .