Absence of the sagittal suture does not result in scaphocephaly.

PURPOSE: Premature fusion or craniosynostosis of suture(s) of the calvaria is known to result in skull deformation. However, absence of sutures may be interpreted as premature closure of a suture of the calvaria. In the study, the authors investigated skull configuration in skulls found to have isolated absence of the sagittal suture.

METHODS

For this study, 400 adult and child skulls from all of the authors' osteological collections were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of these 400 skulls, three specimens were found to have isolated absence of the sagittal suture (one child and two adults). None of these three skulls were found to have scaphocephaly as a result of the suture absence. No other malformations were found on any specimen. One clinical case is also presented with radiologic findings on the absence of the sagittal suture that also did not have resultant skull malformation.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors found that the isolated absence of the sagittal suture does not produce a scaphocephalic skull shape.