Abstract
After birth, the skull grows and remodels in close synchrony with the brain to allow for an increase in intracranial volume. Increase in skull area is provided primarily by bone accretion at the sutures. Additional remodeling, to allow for a change in curvatures, occurs by resorption on the inner surface of the bone plates and accretion on their outer surfaces. When a suture fuses too early, normal skull growth is disrupted, leading to a deformed final skull shape. The leading theory assumes that the main stimulus for skull growth is provided by mechanical stresses. Based on these ideas, we first discuss the dimensional, geometrical, and kinematic synchrony between brain, skull, and suture growth. Second, we present two mechanical models for skull growth that account for growth at the sutures and explain the various observed dysmorphologies. These models demonstrate the particular role of physical and geometrical constraints taking place in skull growth.
- Received 30 January 2017
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.248101
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Physical Model of Skull Growth
Published 16 June 2017
A model predicts skull growth patterns based on mechanical effects, rather than biology, and could help surgeons treating patients with head growth problems.
See more in Physics