Studies Show Infant Skull Is Weak At Birth
A study shows that an infant's skull is far weaker than that of an adult. In fact, at birth, a baby's skull has just one-eighth the strength of an adult skull, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania said in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. The study indicates blows to infants' malleable skulls are more likely to intrude into the cranial cavity. "While it's long been suspected that infants' skulls are not only thin but are also made of bone less sturdy than that in adults' skulls, this work is the first rigorous examination of the issue," said lead author Susan Margulies, associate professor of bioengineering at Pennsylvania State University. "Despite this evidence confirming fragility of children's skulls, researchers' understanding of the actual mechanisms of pediatric head injury remains limited.
"There is sadness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and ofunspeakable love."
-Washington Irving, Dwelling on our Loss
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