Softened areas or thin spots in an infant's skull bones, often indicating nutritional deficiencies or metabolic disease.
From Greek 'kranion' (skull) and Latin 'tabes' (wasting away or decay). The term literally describes bones wasting away.
Medieval doctors couldn't explain why some babies' skulls had soft, thin patches, but modern medicine reveals these spots mark serious calcium or vitamin D deficiency—the body literally can't build bone without these nutrients.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.