chondrocranium

[ kon-droh-krey-nee-uhm ]

noun

, plural chon·dro·cra·ni·ums, chon·dro·cra·ni·a [kon-droh-, krey, -nee-, uh].

1. a braincase composed of cartilage rather than bone, as the skull of sharks and of the vertebrate embryo before ossification.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chondrocranium¹

First recorded in 1870–75; chondr(i)o- + cranium

Example Sentences

I. The chondrocranium, jaws, arches, and muscles of a partly grown larva.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind, the primary skull or chondrocranium gives off two occipal or rear skull plates.

From Project Gutenberg

These two conditions result from the inability of the dermal bones to fill at the proper period the gaps in the chondrocranium.

From Project Gutenberg

The deficiencies in the chondrocranium appear in the occipital bone, which requires a small portion of the dermal bone to complete it on each side.

From Project Gutenberg

The fontanelles, or soft places at the top, sides, and back of the head of the new-born child, are the remains of this failure of the chondrocranium, or primary skull, to cover the gains of the nervous system in the struggle for existence.

From Project Gutenberg