scaphocephaly

Or scaph·o·ceph·a·lism

[skaf-uh-sef-uh-lee]

noun

Pathology.

1. premature closure of the sagittal suture resulting in a deformed skull having an elongated, keellike shape.

Other Word Forms

• scaphocephalic adjective
• scaphocephalous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scaphocephaly¹

First recorded in 1900–05; scapho- + -cephaly

Example Sentences

But of these fifty-eight school children only one had four abnormalities—malformed ears, strabismus, prognathism, and slight scaphocephaly.

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Sir Walter Scott had a skull in which premature closure of the sagittal suture produced the appearance of scaphocephaly, but compensation for this elsewhere produced a decidedly different type.

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