Newborns’ Cranial Vault: Clinical Anatomy and Authors’ Perspective - Newborns’ Cranial Vault: Clinical Anatomy and Authors’ Perspective - Open Access Pub

Cranial vault is the case surrounding the brain. Its structure differs in newborns than in adults in some aspects. Such differences should be clear for both health and family members. Moreover, the anatomy and embryology of fetal skull take a little attention in the previous literature and textbooks. Therefore, this short review aimed to clarify some aspects of anatomy and clinical importance of cranial vault features in newborns. The newborn vault is formed of multiple separate flat bones connected by fibrous tissues with wide soft gaps called fontanelles. Development of bones of skull vault is closely correlated with the expanding growth of the underlying brain. Such brain shouldn't be struggled by continuous tightening of the newborns' vault. Also, the newborn skull could be affected even by a fixed sleeping position. DOI 10.14302/issn.2577-2279.ijha-18-2179 The neonatal skull is malleable; and could be affected or deformed by applying prolonged external forces. Abnormalities of the neonatal skull are common findings. Despite the recent advances in the global health care, the incidence of such anomalies is increasing with possible impact on the normal development and function of the underlying brain. The most encountered cranial anomalies are plagiocephaly and craniosynostosis 1. Both conditions are commonly associated with delays in the development of neonates. Plagiocephaly affects 13–48% of infants at the age of less than one year. Its increased incidence has been attributed to the prolonged supine positioning 2. In 1990s, the parents were advised by the American Academy of Pediatrics to keep their infants lying on their back during sleep with aiming to prevent or minimize the risk of sudden infant death syndrome 3. However, this position was noticed to be accompanied by positional skull deformity in many infants 4. The research in the last decades clarified the process of brain development and the different factors influencing it and hence the human behavior 5. Moreover, the previous literatures have mentioned the fetal skull with the impact of its anatomy on the subsequent development of the underlying brain. The most postnatal development of the brain occurs during the first year of life 6. At the same time, the skull vault increases rapidly during the first year of life, followed by a slow rate till the 7th year; a process is driven mainly by the expanding brain 7. Any impediment to the normal development of the skull might result in bad sequelae to the person later on. Therefore, the current review aimed to highlight the anatomy of the