FONTANEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fontanel mean? 

• FONTANEL (noun)
  The noun FONTANEL has 1 sense:

1. any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus

  Familiarity information: FONTANEL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FONTANEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

fontanel; fontanelle; soft spot

Hypernyms ("fontanel" is a kind of...):

opening; orifice; porta (an aperture or hole that opens into a bodily cavity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fontanel"):

anterior fontanelle (corresponds to the bregma when bones have ossified)

sphenoid fontanel; sphenoid fontanelle; sphenoidal fontanel; sphenoidal fontanelle (the irregularly shaped area on either side of the cranium where the frontal bone and the anterior tip of the parietal bone and the temporal bone and the greater wing of the sphenoid bone meet; corresponds to the pterion when bones have ossified)

Holonyms ("fontanel" is a part of...):

child's body (the body of a human child)

braincase; brainpan; cranium (the part of the skull that encloses the brain)

 Context examples 

It is characterized by developmental abnormalities in the bones and teeth, including the complete or partial absence of the clavicles, delayed closure of the fontanels, protruding mandible, hypertelorism, scoliosis, and short stature.

(Cleidocranial Dysplasia, NCI Thesaurus)