'Fontanel' definitions:
Definition of 'fontanel'
(from WordNet)
noun
Any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus [syn: fontanelle, fontanel, soft spot]
Definition of 'Fontanel'
From: GCIDE
- Fontanel \Fon"ta*nel`\, n. [F. fontanelle, prop., a little fountain, fr. fontaine fountain. See Fountain.]
- 1. (Med.) An issue or artificial ulcer for the discharge of humors from the body.[Obs.] --Wiseman. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Anat.) One of the membranous intervals between the incompleted angles of the parietal and neighboring bones of a fetal or young skull; -- so called because it exhibits a rhythmical pulsation. [1913 Webster]
- Note: In the human fetus there are six fontanels, of which the anterior, or bregmatic, situated at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures, is much the largest, and remains open a considerable time after birth. [1913 Webster]