[ noun ] any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus <noun.body>
Fontanel \Fon"ta*nel`\, n. [F. fontanelle, prop., a little fountain, fr. fontaine fountain. See {Fountain}.] 1. (Med.) An issue or artificial ulcer for the discharge of humors from the body.[Obs.] --Wiseman.
2. (Anat.) One of the membranous intervals between the incompleted angles of the parietal and neighboring bones of a fetal or young skull; -- so called because it exhibits a rhythmical pulsation.
Note: In the human fetus there are six fontanels, of which the anterior, or bregmatic, situated at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures, is much the largest, and remains open a considerable time after birth.
To preserve the "happy peace" that state-sponsored birth-control efforts bring to the people, Mr. Aird writes, China has even "destroyed infants by injections of alcohol into the fontanel" and by stuffing gauze into their mouths.