Intended to ossify between the 2nd and 18th month of life, there are 6 fontanelles in all: the fontanelles of the cranial vault, known as the posterior fontanelle and anterior fontanelle, and the two pairs of fontanelles of the base of the skull, whose name is fontanelle sphenoid (or antero-lateral fontanelles) and mastoid fontanelle (or postero-lateral fontanelle).
The fontanelles give the skull of newborns a pliability that serves to facilitate the passage of the infant's head along the birth canal and to allow the correct development and growth of the brain during the first months of life.
For the presence of certain medical conditions, the fontanelles can change, resulting protruding, wider or narrower than normal, or deeper (or sunken).
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