craniosynostosis
Sign in to saveAlso known as craniostenosis, premature closure of cranial sutures, craniosynostosis syndrome
Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of the fibrous sutures in a young infant's skull prematurely fuses by turning into bone (ossification), thereby changing the growth pattern of the skull. Because the skull cannot expand perpendicular to the fused suture, it compensates by growing more in the direction parallel to the closed sutures. Sometimes the resulting growth pattern provides the necessary space for the growing brain, but results in an abnormal head shape and abnormal facial features. In cases in which the compensation does not effectively provide enough space for the gr
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Craniosynostosis
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Craniostenosis
- Medical condition.image
- Cranialsynostosis.jpg
- Medical condition.caption
- Child with premature closure (craniosynostosis) of the lambdoid suture. Notice the swelling on the right side of the head
- Medical condition.specialty
- Medical genetics
- Medical condition.complications
- Increased intracranial pressure
- Medical condition.onset
- during young age
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
10,134 papers- Craniosynostosis - Recognition, clinical characteristics, and treatment.Bosnian journal of basic medical sciences · 2018
- The clinical manifestations, molecular mechanisms and treatment of craniosynostosis.Disease models & mechanisms · 2022
- Positional Plagiocephaly and Craniosynostosis.Pediatric annals · 2023
- Non-syndromic craniosynostosis.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
- Craniosynostosis.Pediatric neurology · 2015
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Cranialsynostosis.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C84655
- prevalence
- 0.000045
- Commons category
- Craniosynostosis
- ICPC 2 ID
- L82
- exact match
- www.orpha.net/ORDO/Orphanet_1531
via Wikidata · CC0
~38 min read
Article
42 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Scaphocephaly
- Trigonocephaly
- Plagiocephaly
- Anterior plagiocephaly
- Posterior plagiocephaly
- Brachycephaly
- Turricephaly
- Pansynostosis
- Other forms
- Complications
- Elevated intracranial pressure
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Abnormalities in the skull base
- Neurobehavioural impairment
- Causes
- Biomechanical factors
- Environmental factors
- Hormonal factors
- Genetic factors
- Cranial sutures
- Diagnosis
- Elevated ICP
- Physical examination
- Medical imaging
- Classification
- Differential diagnosis
- Deformational plagiocephaly
- Primary microcephaly
- Treatment
- Timing of surgery
- Specific sutures
- Sagittal craniosynostosis/scaphocephaly
- Metopic synostosis/trigonocephaly
- Unilateral coronal synostosis/anterior plagiocephaly
- Unilateral lambdoid synostosis/posterior plagiocephaly
- Bilateral coronal synostosis/brachycephaly
- Pansynostosis/kleeblattschädel
- Complications
- Epidemiology
- References
- External links
Craniosynostosis is a condition in which one or more of the fibrous sutures in a young infant's skull prematurely fuses by turning into bone (ossification), thereby changing the growth pattern of the skull. Because the skull cannot expand perpendicular to the fused suture, it compensates by growing more in the direction parallel to the closed sutures. Sometimes the resulting growth pattern provides the necessary space for the growing brain, but results in an abnormal head shape and abnormal facial features. In cases in which the compensation does not effectively provide enough space for the growing brain, craniosynostosis results in increased intracranial pressure leading possibly to visual impairment, sleeping impairment, eating difficulties, or an impairment of mental development combined with a significant reduction in IQ.
Craniosynostosis occurs in one in 2000 births. Craniosynostosis is part of a syndrome in 15% to 40% of affected patients, but it usually occurs as an isolated condition. The term is from cranio, cranium; + syn, together; + ost, relating to bone; + osis, denoting a condition. Craniosynostosis is the opposite of metopism.