Sagittal sutures in 1-week-old mice.

<p>+/+ mouse skull shows normal suture development (top), whereas heterozygous (middle) and homozygous (bottom) <i>Dhe</i> mice have deficient cranial growth. The +/+ skull shows normal histology, with the edges of the parietal bones (P) nearly overlapping (open arrowheads) and a dense growth of connective tissue surrounding the edges of the bones. In <i>Dhe/+</i>, the bones do not reach one another, the bones themselves are thin, and the connective tissue between them is less dense. In <i>Dhe/Dhe</i>, the phenotype is more severe, with a suture nearly a millimeter wide and the connective tissue in the gap loose and disorganized. 2 µm Epon sections stained with toluidine blue.