ABSTRACT
Skull fractures result from a direct impact of the head against a hard object or surface. Accidental falls under the force of gravity will result in the infant’s head, because of its disproportionately large size and weight, impacting the floor first. In infants there needs to be a history of an accident of sufficient magnitude to account for a fracture. Soft tissue swelling usually becomes apparent overlying the position of a skull fracture as a combination of the direct effect of the impact and bleeding from the site of the fracture. The swelling may be immediately obvious, or may gradually develop over the course of several hours or days. Skull fractures heal by gradual apposition and fibrous union of the fracture margins over a variable period of time. In the first week or two, the edges of the fracture appear clearly defined and gradually there is then loss of definition of the fracture margins.
