Cleidocranial dysplasia.

Abstract

Individuals with cleidocranial dysplasia usually have underdeveloped or absent collarbones, also called clavicles ("cleido-" in the condition name refers to these bones). As a result, their shoulders are narrow and sloping, can be brought unusually close together in front of the body, and in some cases can be made to meet in the middle of the body. Delayed maturation of the skull (cranium) is also characteristic of this condition, including delayed closing of the growth lines where the bones of the skull meet (sutures) and larger than normal spaces (fontanelles) between the skull bones that are noticeable as "soft spots" on the heads of infants. The fontanelles normally close in early childhood, but they may remain open throughout life in people with this disorder. Some individuals with cleidocranial dysplasia have extra pieces of bone called Wormian bones within the sutures.