This book provides an in-depth review of the sutures of the skull. The premature closure of the sutures of the skull (craniosynostosis) due to genetic or metabolic etiologies results in typical progressive skull deformity, due to both the inhibition of growth caused by the affected cranial suture and associated compensatory expansion of the skull along the open ones. Today, it is well known that early diagnosis of craniosynostosis is crucial for the best surgical outcomes and for the normal development of the brain and cosmetic appearance of the skull. As such, in addition to the anatomy, biology, genetics and embryology of the sutures of the skull, the book also covers the diagnosis and treatment of different forms of craniosynostosis such as metopism, and animal models for cranial suture research. This comprehensive work is a valuable resource for neuroscientists at all levels, from graduate students to researchers, as well as neurosurgeons, neuroanatomists, pediatricians, and neurologists seeking both basic and more advanced information on the unique structure of the sutures of the human skull.

The history of medicine is dotted with the episodic appearance of new discoveries, scientific breakthroughs, and the development of new schools of medicine, and each has contributed to the evolution of the art and science of the practice of medicine. The founding of osteopathic medicine by Andrew Taylor Still was one such event. The development of the craniosacral concept by William G.Suther land was another. Both of these giants of osteopathic medicine en countered the reluctance of their colleagues to accept his contribu tion. Both were able to overcome this reluctance and saw the acceptance of his contribution because of the fundamental anatom ical and physiological truth supporting the concept, and the prag matic fact that their therapeutic applications were successful. Both men attracted to them individuals desirous of learning a new diag nostic and therapeutic procedure. It is fortunate that these individu als have continued to promulgate the contribution to osteopathic medicine of their mentors.

This volume presents the results of biological and medical research with the statistical methods used to obtain them. Nowadays the fields of biology and experimental medicine rely on techniques for processing of experimental data and for the evaluation of hypotheses. It is increasingly necessary to stimulate awareness of the importance of statistical techniques (and of the possible traps that they can hide) by using real data in concrete situations drawn from research activity.

Historical remarks -- The cerebral architecture -- Cranial-cerebral relationships applied to microneurosurgery