Skull at birth, showing frontal and occipital fonticuli.
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|Latin
|colspan="2"|f. posterior
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|colspan="2"|[subject #47 ]
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|System
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|Precursor
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|MeSH
|colspan="2"|[]
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|Dorlands/Elsevier
|colspan="2"|[f_12/12372487]
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The anterior fontanelle (bregmatic fontanelle, frontal fontanelle) is the largest, and is placed at the junction of the sagittal suture, coronal suture, and frontal suture; it is lozenge-shaped, and measures about 4 cm. in its antero-posterior and 2.5 cm. in its transverse diameter.
While the posterior and lateral fontanelles are obliterated within a month or two after birth, the anterior is not completely closed until about the middle of the second year.
The anterior fontanelle is useful clinically. Examination of an infant includes palpating the anterior fontanelle. A sunken fontanelle indicates dehydration, whereas a very tense or bulging anterior fontanelle indicates raised intracranial pressure.
