Craniosynostosis (sometimes called craniostenosis) is a disorder in which there is early fusion of the sutures of the skull in childhood. It produces an abnormally shaped head and, at times, appearance of the face. The deformity varies significantly depending on the suture or sutures involved. Surgical correction may be necessary to improve appearance and provide space for the growing brain.

Anatomy

* the bones of the skull are the frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, and sphenoid bones (figure 1)
* the place where two bones come together is called a suture
* at birth the adjacent bones override each other to allow the infant to pass through the birth canal. Hinges called sutures, which allow the head to pass through the birth canal as the child grows the sutures allow for skull expansion to accommodate the growing brain.
* the brain doubles in size by age 6 months and again at age 2 years. These sutures normally begin to fuse around 2 years of age along with the closure of the fontanel (soft spot)
* the seam where two skull bones fuse together is called a suture. The major sutures are called sagittal, coronal, metopic and lambdoid (figure 2)
* the sutures are completely fused by 6-8 yrs of age
* within the skull lie:
1. Brain
2. Meninges
o the dura is a membrane that lines the inside of the skull
o the pia-arachnoid is a filmy membrane that covers the brain
3. Blood vessels of the brain
4. Cerebrospinal fluid (csf), a watery fluid that is produced by and bathes the brain. For more information on surgeries click on the link