Human Malformed Perinatal Anthropological Crania Contribute to New Insight in the Extension of Bone Malformations in Cranial Development.

INTRODUCTION: We describe five abnormal crania which may provide more diagnostic data for assessment of abnormal crania in newborns.

METHODS: Five malformed perinatal crania from the Saxtorphian Collection are described using published prenatal abnormal cranial development criteria. These malformations were compared to normal cranial development arising from the migration of neural crest cells. Visual and photographic investigations were performed.

RESULTS: The malformed crania were occipital encephalocele, holoprosencephaly, anencephaly, and two without a recognizable diagnosis. The anthropological crania were malformed in the same regions as formerly observed in fetal pathology. These regions were comparable to fields formed during normal cell migration from the neural crest. This has seemingly not previously been demonstrated. One undiagnosed cranium may represent a Treacher Collins syndrome (Case 3). The other undiagnosed cranium (Case 4) could be from a scaphocephalic specimen.

DISCUSSION: Sharp borderlines between malformed and non-malformed regions in cranial syndromes may enable improvement in diagnostics.