Bregma

BREGMA, bregma (from Greek brechmus-temple and brecho-I moisten), in commentaries on Aristotle's works is defined as the anterior part of the head, located above the forehead; scabs (drying secretions) of diseased skin on the crown of a child were long considered secretions of the brain (hence the name "moist"). The old name for the parietal bone (os parietale) was os bregmaticum (R. Colombo, XVI century); at present this term denotes the fontanelle bone at the site of the frontal fontanelle, and is called the place where the sagittal and coronal sutures meet on the cranial vault. From an anthropological point of view, B. has significance for characterizing the frontal bone (slope of the forehead, curvature, etc.), the shape of the sagittal arch, etc.; in a living person, B. is determined with difficulty; on a hairless head, it is somewhat more noticeable in the form of a slight depression.