chondrocranium

American  

[kon-droh-krey-nee-uhm] / ˌkɒn droʊˈkreɪ ni əm /

noun

plural

chondrocraniums, chondrocrania

1. a braincase composed of cartilage rather than bone, as the skull of sharks and of the vertebrate embryo before ossification.

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Etymology

Origin of chondrocranium

First recorded in 1870–75; chondr(i)o- + cranium

Example Sentences

I. The chondrocranium, jaws, arches, and muscles of a partly grown larva.

From Project Gutenberg

Owing to the struggle for existence which occurs at puberty between the old type of the chondrocranium and its new type as supplemented by the dermal bones, the nervous system takes a distorted ply which arrests both the bodily, nervous, and mental development at certain points.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind, the primary skull or chondrocranium gives off two occipal or rear skull plates.

From Project Gutenberg

The fontanelles, or soft places at the top, sides, and back of the head of the new-born child, are the remains of this failure of the chondrocranium, or primary skull, to cover the gains of the nervous system in the struggle for existence.

From Project Gutenberg

The mandibles, however, are in part derived from the chondrocranium.

From Project Gutenberg