Lambdoid suture

Lambdoid suture
Lambdoid suture (shown in red line)
Lambdoid suture (labeled at bottom right)
Details
Latin	sutura lambdoidea
Identifiers
Gray's	p.132
Dorlands /Elsevier	12774079
TA	A03.1.02.004
FMA	52933
Anatomical terms of bone

The lambdoid suture (or lambdoidal suture) is a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint on the posterior aspect of the skull that connects the parietal bones with the occipital bone. It is continuous with the occipitomastoid suture.

Its name comes from its lambda-like shape.

Clinical significance

At birth, the bones of the skull do not meet. If certain bones of the skull grow too fast, then craniosynostosis (premature closure of the sutures) may occur. This can result in skull deformities. If the lambdoid suture closes too soon on one side, the skull will appear twisted and asymmetrical, a condition called "plagiocephaly." Plagiocephaly refers to the shape and not the condition. The condition is craniosynostosis.

The lambdoidal suture articulates with the occipital bone and parietal bones.

Additional images

• 

  Animation. Lambdoid suture shown in red.

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  Parietal bones (above) and occipital bone (below).

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  Skull seen from behind. Showing λ-like shape of the lambdoid suture.

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  Lambdoid suture seen from above.

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  Lambdoid suture seen from inside.

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  Lambdoid suture, medial view. Indicated by yellow line.

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  Lambdoid suture with wormian bones, seen from behind.

References

• "Sagittal suture." Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 27th ed. (2000).
• Moore, Keith L., and T.V.N. Persaud. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th ed. (2003).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lambdoid sutures.

• Anatomy figure: 22:01-03 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Posterior)
• Anatomy figure: 22:03-02 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center (Lateral)
• Anatomy diagram: 34256.000-2 at Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator, Elsevier
• Diagram at SUNY/Upstate