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Updated: Oct 16, 2025
Author Spotlight: Development and Evaluation of a Standardized Rat Model for Calvarial Suture-Bony Composite Defects
Published on: May 10, 2024
Linear lucency of the skull vault: Fracture or accessory skull suture
Zhao Peng Koo1, Sheue Feng Siew2, Mansharan Kaur Chainchel Singh3
1Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia; National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
Abstract:
Sutures are a type of fibrous joint that occur only in the skull. However, partial or complete division of bones resulting in anomalous or accessory skull sutures may be misinterpreted as fractures when identified on radiological examination. Thus, it is of paramount clinical and medicolegal importance that these sutures be differentiated from actual fractures which can lead to severe consequences such as false accusation and mis-management of patient. It must be remembered though that the diagnosis in such cases is not straight forward even during postmortem examination which requires careful evaluation of findings with the aid of histology examination and radiology imaging. We present a case of a mis-diagnosis of an anomalous parietal suture in a three-month-old infant.
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