Fetal Skull Labeling Quiz – Fontanelles, Sutures and Bones

All 15 parts on the diagram

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From above 6

Anterior fontanelle The largest fontanelle, shaped like a diamond. It lies where the frontal, sagittal and coronal sutures meet.
Posterior fontanelle A small triangular gap at the back of the vault. It lies where the sagittal and lambdoid sutures meet.
Sagittal suture The joint between the two parietal bones. It runs along the midline from the anterior fontanelle to the posterior one.
Frontal (metopic) suture The joint between the two halves of the frontal bone. The halves usually fuse early in life; a suture that stays is called a persistent metopic suture.
Frontal eminence A rounded bulge on each half of the frontal bone. It lies above the superciliary arch, the ridge of the brow.
Parietal eminence A bulge near the middle of each parietal bone. It marks the point where the bone began to form.

From the side 9

Frontal bone The bone of the forehead, in two halves at birth. The coronal suture joins it to the parietal bones.
Parietal bone The large plate of the side and roof. At birth a fontanelle lies at each of its four angles.
Occipital bone The bone at the back of the skull. The lambdoid suture joins it to the two parietal bones.
Coronal suture The joint between the frontal bone and the parietal bones. It runs down each side from the anterior fontanelle.
Lambdoid suture The joint between the occipital bone and the parietal bones. The posterior fontanelle lies where it meets the sagittal suture.
Squamous part of the temporal bone One of the parts of the temporal bone. It lies below the parietal bone, and the mastoid fontanelle is behind it at birth.
Tympanic ring An incomplete ring of bone that holds the eardrum. After birth it grows outward to form the tympanic part of the temporal bone.
Sphenoidal fontanelle The gap at the lower front angle of the parietal bone. It is also called the anterolateral fontanelle, and there is one on each side.
Mastoid fontanelle The gap at the lower back angle of the parietal bone. It is also called the posterolateral fontanelle and lies between the temporal, occipital and parietal bones.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these, in our own words: Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918, public domain), the skull at birth and the frontal, parietal and temporal bones; Cunningham's Text-book of Anatomy (1902, public domain); Wikipedia, Fontanelle and Frontal suture; Kenhub, Frontal bone, Parietal bone, Temporal bone. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A fetal skull labeling quiz on two drawings of the skull at birth. The bones of the vault are separate plates, joined by sutures and by wider gaps, the fontanelles. Find each one; every answer stays written in.

Read the full guide

From above

The forehead is at the top. The diamond in the middle is the anterior fontanelle, with the frontal suture in front of it and the sagittal suture behind it. The small triangle near the back is the posterior fontanelle. The bulge on each plate is its eminence.

From the side

The face is on the left. The coronal suture runs between the frontal bone and the parietal bone, and the lambdoid suture between the parietal bone and the occipital bone. A side fontanelle sits at each lower angle of the parietal bone: the sphenoidal fontanelle in front and the mastoid fontanelle behind. The tympanic ring is the small open ring under the squamous part of the temporal bone.

The anterior fontanelle is the diamond; the posterior one is the triangle.

Questions and answers

How many fontanelles does a fetal skull have?

Six. Two are in the midline, the anterior and the posterior fontanelle. Two more are on each side: the sphenoidal fontanelle in front and the mastoid fontanelle behind.

Where is the anterior fontanelle?

On top of the skull, where the frontal, sagittal and coronal sutures meet, between the two halves of the frontal bone and the two parietal bones. It is the largest fontanelle and is shaped like a diamond.

What is the metopic suture?

Another name for the frontal suture, the joint between the two halves of the frontal bone at birth. The halves usually fuse early in life; a suture that stays is called a persistent metopic suture.

Which fontanelle closes last?

The anterior fontanelle. The posterior fontanelle closes within the first few months after birth; the anterior one stays open longest, often into the second year of life.

Fetal Skull Labeling Quiz: The Skull at Birth