Premature ossification of skull's sutures and its effects on the shape and appearance of the head was first reviewed in 1858 by Virchow, who named it craniosynostosis. When there is abnormal configuration of the skull, radiological evaluation must be done in order to characterize the deformity and to guide surgical corrective procedures. It is well known that a significant improvement is seen in children with early diagnosis and surgical intervention. Computed tomography 3-D reconstructions allow the evaluation of the degree of involvement of each suture and associated facial and intracranial anomalies. In this pictorial review we illustrate the image findings and discuss the nomenclature and the anomalies associated with the several types of primary craniosynostosis.

Keywords: Scaphocephaly, Plagiocephaly, Brachycephaly, Computed tomography