Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Midface Hypoplasia and Cranial Base Morphology in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: A Comparative Analysis Study Using a Predictive Regression Model
Published on: November 4, 2025
Quantification of cranial base growth during pubertal growth
Luciana Abrão Malta1, Cristina F Ortolani, Kurt Faltin
1Department of Orthodontics School of Dentistry University Paulista, UNIP, Sao Paulo, Brazil. lucianabrao@yahoo.com.br
Objective:
To quantify longitudinal cranial base growth from prepubertal through postpubertal stages of development, as defined by biological indicators of individual skeletal maturity (cervical vertebral maturation - CVM) method and to determine if there is sexual dimorphism resulting from cranial base growth.
Design:
A longitudinal cephalometric study.
Setting:
The Dental School of Paulista University, Brazil.
Participants:
36 subjects (21 females, 15 males) who were part of a longitudinal growth study and exhibited normal facial and normal vertical growth patterns.
Methods:
Growth maturation of cervical vertebrae stages was assessed by two examiners independently. Cranial base measurements were carried out by one individual and repeated after one month. The growth increments over time were assessed with the one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey multiple comparisions.
Results:
There were no significant gender differences. There was a significant increase in all cephalometric measures between the different time points. Ba-Na showed the greatest amount of growth (mean change=2.8 mm). From T2-T3, the greatest amount of growth was found for Se-Na (mean change=3.4 mm) and the lowest for CC-Na (mean change=1.4 mm). Comparing overall changes (T1-T3) all the measurements showed statistically significantly increases (P<0.05). For all comparisons of between-stage changes the cranial base grew more than 2.0 mm during the pubertal growth.
Conclusions:
Linear variables of cranial base showed significant growth during pubertal stages (pre-peak, peak and post-peak). No significant differences.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Signs of Puberty
01:27Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
01:27Growth of Cartilage and Bone Tissue
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
01:09Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...