FETAL SKULL

The fetal head is large in relation to the fetal body compared with the adult. Adaptation
between the skull and the pelvis is necessary to allow the head to pass through the pelvis without
complications. The bones of the vault are thin and pliable and if subjected to great pressure
damage to the underlying delicate brain may occur.

PARTS/DIVISIONS OF THEFETAL SKULL

Parts of fetal skull include
1. Base
2. Face
3. Vault
1. Base:
It is the lower part of fetal skull. It has the foramen magnum through which spinal cord
and nerve passing it. It protects the vital organ such as Cerebrum, Cerebellum and
medulla Etc.
2. Face:
It extends from glabella through root of the nose to mentum and submentum. It
comprised of 14 small bones and it is non compressible.
3. Vault:
It is the large dome shaped part above an imaginary line drawn between the orbital ridges
and nape of the neck.

BONES OF THE VAULT

The bones of the vault are laid down in membrane. They ossify from the centre outwards
in a process known as ossification. Ossification is incomplete at birth, leaving small gaps
between the bones known as the sutures and fontanelles. The ossification centre on each bone
appears as a protuberance.
 Frontal bone:
There are two frontal bone which forms the fore head or sinciput. Ossification
centre of frontal bone is called as Frontal eminence or boss. Frontal bones fuse into a
single bone by 8 yrs of age.
Parietal bone:
There are two parietal bones forms the side of the fetal skull. Ossification centre
of the parietal bone is known as Parietal eminence.
Temporal bone:
There are two temporal bones lies at the sides of the fetal skull forms part of the
vault
Occipital bone:
It lies at the back of the head. Part of it contributes to the base of the skull as it
contains the foramen magnum, which protects the spinal cord as it leaves the skull..
Ossification centre is the occipital protuberance.

SUTURES
The sutures are the cranial joints formed where two bones meet.
o Frontal suture:
Frontal sutures lies in between the frontal bone
o Coronal suture:
It lies in between the frontal and parietal bone and extends from one
temporal bone to the other
o Sagittal suture:
It lies in between two parietal bones
o Lambdoidal suture:
It lies in between the Occipital bone and parietal bone
FONTANELLES
Two or more sutures meet to form fontanelle.
o Anterior fontanelle / Bregma
It is formed by the fusion of Frontal suture, Coronal suture and Sagittal suture.
It is broad, kite shape with length 3-4 cm and width 1.5 2 cm. It gets closed at the
age of 1 years
 o Posterior Fontanelle / Lambda
It is formed by the fusion of Sagittal suture and lambdoid suture. It is small,
triangular in shape and gets closed at the age of 1 month.

REGIONS AND LANDMARKS OF THE FETAL SKULL

The skull is further separated into regions and within these, there are important
landmarks. Land marks of the fetal skull includes
The Occiput region
It lies between Foramen magnum to posterior fontanelle.
Subocciput region
The part below the Occipital protuberance is known as Subocciput region
Vertex region
It is bounded by the anterior fontanelle, two parietal eminence and
posterior fontanelle
Sinciput / Forehead region:
It is bounded by anterior fontanelle, two frontal boss and orbital ridges.
Glabella:
The point between the orbital ridges is known as glabella.
Mentum:
Tip of the chin is known as Mentum
Sub-mentum:
The part below the mentum where the face and neck fuse is known as
Submentum.

DIAMETERS OF THE FETAL SKULL

There are six longitudinal diameters and two transverse diameters
Longitudinal diameters
Occipito frontal diameter: (11.5 cm)
It lies between occipital protuberance to the glabella.
Subocciptobregmatic diameter: (9.5 cm)
It extends between suboccipital region to centre of the anterior fontanelle
 Suboccipitofrontal diameter: (10 cm)
It lies between subocciptal region to centre of the frontal suture
Mento vertical diameter: (13.5 cm)
It extends from mentum to highest point of vertex slightly nearer to the
posterior fontanelle. It is the largest diameter of the fetal skull.
Submentovertical diameter: (11.5 cm)
It lies between Submentum region to the highest point of verte
Submentobregmatic diameter: (9.5 cm)
It extends from submentum region to centre of the bregma

Transverse diameters
Bi temporal diameter: (8.2 cm)
It is the smallest diameter in the fetal skull which extends between two
temporal bones.
Biparietal diameter: (9.5 cm)
It is the diameter which lies between two parietal eminence