STUDY OF THE SKULL IN HUMAN CRANIOSCHISIS

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Abstract
An anatomic study of the skeleton of the cranium and the face in human cranioschisis is presented. This study has shown that the basic skeletal abnormalities of the skull in these malformations are those of the base of the skull, that the anomalies of the bone of the cranial vault are to be expected, since a complete neurocranium never is formed in this malformation and that the anomalous position of the bones of the face and of the cranial vault are due to secondary adaptations of these bones to the anomalous base of the skull. The results support the concept that a mesodermal alteration is the primary cause of cranioschisis. The central nervous tissue left uncovered and unprotected by the underlying abnormal mesoderm will secondarily degenerate. This developmental malformation, when affecting only the head, should be known as cranlor schists, a term which expresses better the anatomical and fundamental anomaly. Finally, cranioschisis should be considered and classified in the group of mesodermal developmental abnormalities.