fontanelle

/ ˌfɒntəˈnɛl /

noun

1. anatomy any of several soft membranous gaps between the bones of the skull in a fetus or infant

Word History and Origins

Origin of fontanelle¹

C16 (in the sense: hollow between muscles): from Old French fontanele , literally: a little spring, from fontaine _fountain

Example Sentences

But after noticing that Molly's fontanelle - the soft spot on the top of her head - was bulging when she was 12 weeks, a doctor in A&E diagnosed a large brain tumour.

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America also has a spot softer than a newborn’s fontanelle for shallow nonsense.

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“The plates of its skull had not completely fused and the fontanelle was still open,” said Gatrell, meaning part of the chick’s brain had herniated out of its skull.

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The incubator, the tube in our son’s nose, the tender fontanelle of his crown – these were the only things I allowed myself to care about.

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The researchers attached a 40-gram ultrasonic probe to the anterior fontanelles of six healthy babies.

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