Week 6 Liz Babies have Amazing Skull Bones

I am convinced, babies have awesome skull bones. In clinic a two-day old baby fell to the brain and fractured her skull. It will grow back and no harm will be done from the break.

What I learned in all cases is that a child's skull is able to grow quickly, since it grows develops to fit the shape of the growing brain. Surgeons prefer doing surgery (such as for the removal of a dermoid cyst) on a young baby because the skull bone will simply grow back. The brain's most dramatic growth occurs from birth up to two years of age. In clinic, I observed Dr. Greenfield and nurse Maria Rust use this knowledge when they questioned patients. They monitor the growth of the babies head, checking to see if it was in the proper growth curve. If the child is not growing along their expected growth curve, then they investigate for deeper issues. During an exam, doctors perform a hand examination to feel the sutures in the brain and to make sure the fontenelle or soft spot on the babies skull is still soft. Essentially, during the first months to two years it is vital for the baby to grow uninhibited, the brain must have space to grow and the skull must also growth with the brain.

I also I saw a lot of cases concerning the development of the skull and its growth in babies. In particular, there were two cases of Plagiocephaly or "the flat head syndrome." Plagiocephaly cases have increased since the 1990s campaign on "back to sleep", making babies sleep on their back to reduce the occurrence of SIDS, even though babies natural prefer to sleep on their bellies. (As a sidenote, it was interesting to see how some practices which not all doctors consider effective are still done because of public health advertising. Interesting dynamic.)

Besides he "wow" factor, it was initially hard for me to appreciate how shadowing a doctor in clinic would inform my career as a PhD-trained scientist. But now, I think these experiences will allow me to be a better scientist because I have a practical understanding of how the data/information I collect can be put into practice by doctors. It will also help with the language/interest barrier between doctors and scientists. Now that I have been around the hospital I understand how they process information from a patient and turn that into a diagnosis and treatment plan.