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Related Concept Videos

Sutures of the Skull01:22

Sutures of the Skull

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The human skull is composed of several bones that come together to protect the brain and support the structures of the face. The junctions where these bones meet are called sutures.
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...
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Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View01:14

Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View

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The superior view of the cranium shows the frontal and paired parietal bones.
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,...
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Cranial Bones: Lateral View01:27

Cranial Bones: Lateral View

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The lateral view of the cranium is dominated by temporal, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones.
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...
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Overview of the Skull01:08

Overview of the Skull

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The cranium (skull) is the skeletal structure of the head that supports the face and protects the brain. It is subdivided into the facial bones and the brain case, or cranial vault. The facial bones underlie the facial structures, form the nasal cavity, enclose the eyeballs, and support the teeth of the upper and lower jaws.
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...
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Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification01:29

Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification

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Intramembranous ossification is one of the two processes involved in the development of bones within an embryo. The flat bones of the face, most of the cranial bones, and the clavicles are formed via this process. During intramembranous ossification, the bones develop directly from sheets of undifferentiated mesenchymal connective tissue.
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into ...
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Structural Joints: Fibrous Joints01:03

Structural Joints: Fibrous Joints

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Fibrous joints are a type of joint where the bones are connected by fibrous connective tissue. These joints provide stability and minimal to no movement between the articulating bones. There are three types of fibrous joints.
Suture
All the bones of the skull, except for the mandible, are joined to each other by a fibrous joint called a suture. The fibrous connective tissue found at a suture strongly unites the adjacent skull bones and thus helps to protect the brain and form the face. In...
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Author Spotlight: PEGASOS Tissue Clearing Technique to Visualize Bone Remodeling
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The metopic suture: Natural history.

M Vinchon1

  • 1Service de neurochirurgie pédiatrique, university hospital, CHRU de Lille, 59037 Lille cedex, France.

Neuro-Chirurgie
|September 29, 2019
PubMed
Summary

The metopic suture typically closes between 4 and 9 months. Metopism, or persistent metopic suture, occurs in 5.1% of children over one year old, while trigonocephaly incidence is rising.

Area of Science:

  • Craniofacial development
  • Pediatric neurosurgery
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • The metopic suture (MS) is a key cranial suture. Premature closure causes trigonocephaly; persistence (metopism) is a normal variant.
  • Data on MS closure timing and metopism prevalence in healthy children are limited.
  • Trigonocephaly prevalence has increased, while metopism prevalence has decreased over recent decades.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document the age of onset and completion of metopic suture closure.
  • To determine the prevalence of metopism in children.
  • To analyze trends in trigonocephaly and metopism prevalence and their potential relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 3D-CT scans from 477 children with head trauma to study MS closure patterns.
Keywords:
Birth traumaComparative anatomyMetopic sutureMetopic synostosisMetopism

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  • Review of clinical series of patients with synostosis over four decades.
  • Comparative anatomy and paleoanthropology data review.

    • Main Results:

    • Metopic suture closure typically begins at 4 months and completes by 9 months.
    • Metopism prevalence stabilizes after age 1 at 5.1%, being more common in girls (F/M ratio 2.1).
    • Trigonocephaly incidence has steadily increased, paralleling a decrease in metopism prevalence.

    Conclusions:

    • The findings provide normative data for metopic suture closure and metopism prevalence.
    • The study suggests a potential evolutionary link between bipedalism, pelvic structure, and metopic suture persistence.
    • The rise in cesarean sections may be a factor in the declining prevalence of metopism and increasing trigonocephaly.