fontanel Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus
    soft spot; fontanelle.

WordNet

Fon"ta*nel` noun
Etymology
F. fontanelle, prop., a little fountain, fr. fontaine fountain. See Fountain.
Definitions
  1. (Med.) An issue or artificial ulcer for the discharge of humors from the body.Obs. Wiseman.
  2. (Anat.) One of the membranous intervals between the incompleted angles of the parietal and neighboring bones of a fetal or young skull; -- so called because it exhibits a rhythmical pulsation. ✍ In the human fetus there are six fontanels, of which the anterior, or bregmatic, situated at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures, is much the largest, and remains open a considerable time after birth.

Webster 1913