Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Author Spotlight: A Reproducible and Efficient Method for Accessing Porcine Brain via Craniectomy
Published on: July 5, 2024
Acalvaria
Ammar H Hawasli1, Thomas L Beaumont, Timothy W Vogel
1Department of Neurosurgery and.
Acalvaria is a rare congenital malformation characterized by an absence of skin and skull. The authors describe a newborn at an estimated 38 weeks gestational age who was delivered via cesarean section from a 32-year-old mother. Upon delivery, the child was noted to have a frontal encephalocele and an absence of calvaria including skull and skin overlying the brain. A thin membrane representing dura mater was overlying the cortical tissue. After multiple craniofacial operations, including repair of the encephalocele and application of cultured keratinocytes over the rostral defect, the patient demonstrated significant closure of the calvarial defect and was alive at an age of more than 17 months with near-average development.
Acalvaria is a rare congenital malformation characterized by an absence of skin and skull. The authors describe a newborn at an estimated 38 weeks gestational age who was delivered via cesarean section from a 32-year-old mother. Upon delivery, the child was noted to have a frontal encephalocele and an absence of calvaria including skull and skin overlying the brain. A thin membrane representing dura mater was overlying the cortical tissue. After multiple craniofacial operations, including repair of the encephalocele and application of cultured keratinocytes over the rostral defect, the patient demonstrated significant closure of the calvarial defect and was alive at an age of more than 17 months with near-average development.
Related Concept Videos
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,...
01:27Cranial 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...
01:08Overview of the Skull
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
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...
01:19Cranial and Spinal Meninges
Cranial Meninges
These meningeal layers cover the cranium. The dura mater is the outermost layer of cranial meninges. It is a thick and durable membrane of dense...
01:26Cerebrum: Anatomical Overview I