craniotabes /krā′nē·ōtā″bēz/ [Gk, kranion + L, tabes, wasting] , benign congenital thinness of the top and back of the skull of a newborn. The condition is common because the rate of brain growth exceeds the rate of calcification of the skull during the last month of gestation. The bones feel brittle when pressed by an examiner’s fingers. Craniotabes disappears with normal nutrition and growth but may persist in infants in whom rickets develops.
