Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 2013, 10(86):20130442. doi: doi:10.1098/rsif.2013.0442, type of study: ,exs,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Free full text   (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2013.0442)

Keywords:

[10320]

Abstract:

The skull is composed of many bones that come together at sutures. These sutures are important sites of growth, and as growth ceases some become fused while others remain patent. Their mechanical behaviour and how they interactwithchangingformandloadings to ensure balancedcraniofacialdevel- opment is still poorly understood. Earlysuture fusion often leads to disfiguring syndromes, thus is it imperative that we understand the function of sutures more clearly. By applying advanced engineering modelling techniques, we reveal for the first time that patent sutures generate amorewidely distributed, high level of strain throughout the reptile skull.Without patent sutures, large regions of the skull are only subjected to infrequent low-level strains that couldweaken the bone and result in abnormal development. Sutures are there- fore not onlysites ofbone growth,but couldalso be essential for themodulation of strains necessary for normal growth and development in reptiles.