Caput Health Dictionary

Caput: From 1 Different Sources


The Latin word for head.

The term is commonly used to refer to the caput succedaneum, a soft, temporary swelling in the scalp of newborn babies, caused by pressure during labour.

Caput is also used to refer to the face, skull, and associated organs, to the origin of a muscle, or to any enlarged extremity, such as the caput femoris, the head of the femur (thigh bone).

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association

Caput Succedaneum

Usually shortened by obstetricians to ‘caput’, this is the temporary swelling which is sometimes found on the head of the newborn infant. It is due to OEDEMA in and around the scalp, caused by pressure on the head as the child is born. It is of no signi?cance and quickly disappears spontaneously.... caput succedaneum

Caput Medusae (medusa’s Head)

The term describing the abnormally dilated veins that form around the umbilicus in CIRRHOSIS of the liver.... caput medusae (medusa’s head)



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