Final answer:
Fontanelles are the growth plates of the skull. They allow the skull to change shape during birth and continue to grow as the brain enlarges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The growth plates of the skull are called fontanelles. Fontanelles are large areas of dense connective tissue that separate the skull bones in infants. They allow for the skull to change shape during birth and continue to grow and expand as the brain enlarges. Fontanelles gradually decrease in size and disappear by the age of 2, but the skull bones remain separated from each other at the sutures, which contain fibrous connective tissue that allows for continued growth.