Frontal

[Fr., from Lat. frontal is.] Belonging to the forehead. (Anat.) The frontal bone of the skull , the Frons , q. v., forms in the male the whole anterior portion of the cranium, extending laterally from the temples, and from the orbits to the parietal, or wall-bones of the skull; in females, however, this bone is generally divided into two by a seam or suture up the centre of the bone. The frontal sinus is the space between the plates of the frontal bone extending over the eyes and nostrils, and in health adding to the reverberance of the voice; but when affected by inflammation or a severe cold, the thickening of its lining membrane causes that obstruction in speaking known as talking through the no se. -n. [Lat. frontale, a frontlet.] A front piece; an ornament for the forehead; a frontlet; as, the frontal of a helmet. ( Arch .) The hanging with which the front of an altar is covered.-Also, an ornament over a door or pediment. ( Med .) A medicine applied to the forehead.