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Craniosynostosis,[1] is a medical condition in which some or all of the sutures in the skull of an infant or child close too early,[2] causing problems with normal brain and skull growth. It can result in craniostenosis, which is the skull deformity caused by the premature closure of the cranial sutures. Also intracranial pressure can be increased.
In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 28 bones. The flat bones making up the cranial vault are joined together by sutures: rigid articulations permitting very little movement.
At birth, the human skull is made up of 45 separate bony elements. As growth occurs, many of these bony elements gradually fuse together into solid bone (for example, the frontal bones).
The bones of the roof of the skull are initially separated by regions of dense connective tissue. At birth these regions are fibrous and moveable, necessary for birth and later growth. Larger regions of connective tissue, called fontanelles, occur where certain bony elements meet. As growth and ossification progress, the connective tissue of the fontanelles is invaded and replaced by bone. The posterior fontanelle usually closes by eight weeks, but the anterior fontanelle can remain up to eighteen months.
When one or more sutures fuse prematurely, skull growth can be restricted perpendicular to the suture. If multiple sutures fuse while the brain is still increasing in size, intracranial pressure can increase.
Primary craniosynostosis is believed to be a result of primary defect in the mesenchymal layer ossification in the cranial bones. Secondary craniosynostosis is a result of primary failure of brain growth.
Physicians diagnose craniosynostosis through physical examination, plain x-rays, and CT scans. [3]
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