asynclitism /āsing″klitiz′əm/ [Gk, a + syn, not together, kleisis, to lean] , presentation of a parietal aspect of the fetal head to the maternal pelvic inlet in labor. The sagittal suture is parallel to the transverse diameter of the pelvis but anterior or posterior to it. In normal labor, the fetal head usually engages with some degree of asynclitism. Anterior asynclitism, in which the anterior part presents, is called Nägele obliquity. Posterior asynclitism is called Litzmann obliquity. See also cardinal movements of labor, engagement.
