What is "brachycephaly"

Brachycephaly \Brach`y*ceph"a*ly\, Brachycephalism \Brach`y*ceph"a*lism\, n. [Cf. F. Brachyc['e]phalie] . (Anat.) The state or condition of being brachycephalic; shortness of head.

n. (context pathology English) A congenital condition wherein the skull is flattened front-to-back, so that the head is short and broad.

Brachycephaly (from Greek roots meaning "short" and "head") is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, such as Pugs, and can be normal or abnormal in other animal species. In humans, the cephalic disorder is known as flat head syndrome, and results from premature fusion of the coronal sutures (see craniosynostosis) or from external deformation (see plagiocephaly). The coronal suture is the fibrous joint that unites the frontal bone with the two parietal bones of the skull. The parietal bones form the top and sides of the skull. This feature can be seen in Down syndrome.

In anthropology, human populations have been characterized as either dolichocephalic (long headed), mesaticephalic (moderate headed), or brachycephalic (short headed). The usefulness of the cephalic index was questioned by Giuseppe Sergi, who argued that cranial morphology provided a better means to model racial ancestry.The incidence of brachycephaly in people has increased dramatically since the advent of sudden infant death syndrome recommendations for parents to keep their babies on their backs. It is considered a cosmetic problem. Many pediatricians remain unaware of the issue and possible treatments. Treatments include regular prone repositioning of babies ("tummy time").

There are also cases of brachycephaly associated with plagiocephaly, this deformity occurs when there is a combination of brachycephaly and plagiocephaly present. Brachycephaly with plagiocephaly is positional and has become more prevalent since the "Back to Sleep" Campaign.The Back to Sleep campaign began in 1994 as a way to educate parents, caregivers, and health care providers about ways to reduce the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The campaign was named for its recommendation to place healthy babies on their backs to sleep. Placing babies on their backs to sleep reduces the risk for SIDS, also known as "cot death" or "crib death." This campaign has been successful in promoting infant back sleeping and other risk-reduction strategies to parents, family members, child care providers, health professionals, and all other caregivers of infants, at a cost of increasing the incidence of this deformation of the head.

Brachycephaly also describes a developmentally normal type of skull with a high cephalic index, such as in snub-nosed breeds of dog such pugs and bulldogs or cats such as the Persian, Exotic and Himalayan.