SKELETAL SYSTEM – VERTEBRATE AXIAL SKELETON | ZOO 102

ORGANIZATION OF THE AXIAL SPLANCHNOCRANIUM

SKELETON • a.k.a. visceral cranium
• support pharyngeal slits in protochordates
AXIAL SKELETON • ancient chordate structure
• Ribs and Sterna • associated with filter feeding in the amphioxus
• Vertebrae • among vertebrates, it supports gills and
• Skull – chondrocranium, splanchnocranium, attachment of the respiratory muscles
dermatocranium • its elements contribute to the jaws and the
hyoid apparatus of latostomes (? Di ko narinig)
CRANIUM
vertebrate skull – three phylogenetically distinct parts

CHONDROCRANIUM
• underlies and supports the brain
• a.k.a. neurocranium
• composed of endochondral bone or cartilage

PHARYNGEAL ARCHES
• development starts with the formation of
cartilage – form from head mesenchyme, next
to the notochord
• CARTILAGES (anterior to posterior)
o Trabeculae, Polar cartilage,
Parachordals, Occipitals
• SENSORY CAPSULES (anterior to posterior)
o Nasal, Optic, Otic (ears)
• CONTRIBUTORS
o Neural crest (nasal/otic capsules,
trabeculae)
o Mesenchyme (all other
chondrocranium regions)
• also called branchial or gill arches as they are
associated with the gill system in aquatic
animals
• each arch can be composed of a series of up
to 5 parts: pharyngobranchial, epibranchial,
ceratobranchial, hypobranchial, basibranchial
• Mandibular arch – first and largest; composed
of an upper palatoquadrate, bottom is
Meckel’s cartilage
• Hyoid arch – most prominent feature is the
hyomandibula
• Branchial arches – follow the hyoid arch,
numbers vary
• Development arises from cells coming from the
neural crest; these cells stream down and go in
between the pharyngeal slits to form the
pharyngeal arches (this is how I interpreted
what maam said lol)

• Ethmoid plate – trabeculae fusion

• Basal plate – parachordals fusion
• Occipital arch – occipitals grow upward
and outward around the notochord
*Ossification occurs except in elasmobranchs, as the
chondrocranium is expanded and supports the brain,
while in most vertebrates, it is an embryonic structure
 SKELETAL SYSTEM – VERTEBRATE AXIAL SKELETON | ZOO 102
DERMATOCHRANIUM
• outer skull structure
• dermal bone
• forms the sides and roof of the skull to
complete the protective bony case around the
brain
• forms the bony lining of the roof of the mouth
and encases most of the splanchnocranium
• phylogenetically, it arises from the bony armor
of the integument of early fishes
• in amniotes, dermatocranium bones form
predominantly than the splanchnocranium,
form most of the brain case and lower jaw
• dermal skull contains a series of bones joined
together by sutures and box the brain
FACIAL SERIES
• Premaxilla and Maxilla – define the margins of
the snout, usually bear teeth
• Nasals – lies medial
ORBITAL SERIES
• Lacrimal – named after the nasolacrimal duct
or the tear duct
• Prefrontal, Postfrontal, Postorbital, Jugal
TEMPORAL SERIES – lies behind the orbital series
• Quadratojugal and Squamosal – form the
cheeks
• Intertemporal, Supratemporal, Tabular – lie
medial; reduced in early tetrapods and usually
lost in later species
VAULT SERIES
• Parietal – defines the parietal foramen: a tiny
skylight in the skull that exposes the penial
gland to sunlight
• Frontal, Postparietal
PALATAL SERIES – cover much of the roof of the
mouth
• Pterygoid – largest, medial
• Vomer, Palatine, Ectopterygoid – lateral
• Parasphenoid – unpaired and medial, found in
fishes and lower tetrapods
MANDIBULAR SERIES - firm
• Meckel’s cartilage encased in the bone of the
mandibular series
• Dentary, Splenials, Angular, Surangular –
lateral
• Prearticular, Coronoids – medial
• Many of these bones wrap around the
mandibular wall
• Left and right mandibles meet in the midline in
the mandibular symphysis
• Mandibular symphysis – soft tissue, permits
independent movement of each mandible
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE NEURAL CREST AND
MESODERMAL MESENCHYME
*stippled parts are contributions of the mesenchyme
*shaded parts are contributions of the neural crest
VERTEBRAE
REGIONS OF THE VERTEBRAE
• Cervical
• Thoracic
• Lumbar
• Sacral
• Caudal
VERTEBRAE - Important for axial support
PARTS OF A VERTEBRA
• Centrum – body, occupies the former
position of the notochord
• Neural arch – perched on the centra,
may or may not have a neural spine
• Hemal arch – found ventrally, protect
the blood vessels
• Pophysis – general term for projections
from the centra or neural arches
• Prezygapophysis – paired processes of
the neural arch
• Postzygapophysis – in the caudal end
• Diapophysis – transverse processes
that articulate with the ribs
• Parapophysis – lateral projections from
the centra of few tetrapods
• Hypapophysis – midventral projections
from the centra of snakes and some
amniotes
 SKELETAL SYSTEM – VERTEBRATE AXIAL SKELETON | ZOO 102

CENTRA • HOLOSPONDYLY – centra is one unit; all

vertebral units are fused
TYPES ACCORDING TO SHAPE
• ACOELOUS (AMPHIPLATIAN CENTRA) –
centra with flat ends, suited to receive and
distribute compressive forces
• AMPHICOELOUS– concave surface, allows
limited motion in most direction
o When flexed, space between them
widens, so the cord above them
becomes stretched
• PROCOELOUS – concave anteriorly, convex
posteriorly
DEVELOPMENT OF THE VERTEBRAE
o Convex surface fits onto the concave to
form a ball and socket joint; allows • Inward cells coming from the sclerotomes
extensive movement in most directions congregate into paired cartilages alongside
without stretching the nerve cord the notochord and the nerve cord called the
• OPISTHOCOELOUS – convex anteriorly, embryonic arcualia
concave posteriorly
o Convex surface fits onto the concave to
form a ball and socket joint; allows
extensive movement in most directions
without stretching the nerve cord
• HETEROCOELOUS – saddle shaped –
convexity in the x axis, concavity in the y axis
o Wider degree of vertical and lateral
direction, prevent rotation of the
vertebral column; common in turtles
and cervical vertebra of birds RIBS AND STERNA
FUNCTIONS
• Provide sites for muscle attachment
• Help suspend the body
• Form a protective case around the viscera
• Accessory breathing devices

RIBS
IN FISH
• 2 sets of ribs with each vertebral segment
o Dorsal - Form at the intersection of
each myoseptum with the horizontal
TYPES ACCORDING TO NUMBER septum
• ASPONDYLY – absence of centrum ▪ Horizontal septum – a.k.a.
• MONOSPONDYLY – one centrum horizontal skeletogenous
• DISPONDYLY – two centra septum; longitudinal sheet of
connective tissue
• POLYSPONDYLY – greater than 2 centra; seen
o Ventral – form at points where the
in Dipnoi and Holocephalan
myosepta meet the walls of the
TYPES ACCORDING TO ORGANIZATION coelomic cavity
• ASPIDOSPONDYLY – all structures are o In tetrapods, the dorsal ribs persist
separate
• RACHITOMOUS – numerous separate parts
constitute each vertebral segment; both the
intercentrum and pleurocentrum are separate
• EMBOLOMEROUS – separate but equal sized
centra
• STEREOSPONDYLOUS – single centra
 SKELETAL SYSTEM – VERTEBRATE AXIAL SKELETON | ZOO 102

IN AMNIOTES
• Ribs of primitive tetrapods are bicyclical; 2 heads
that articulate with the vertebra
o CAPITULUM – articulates with the
Parapophysis on the intercentrum
o TUBERCULUM – articulates with the
diapophysis on the neural arch
o Ventral part articulates with the sternum
• True rib – ribs that meet ventrally at the sternum
• False rib - articulates with other ribs but not the
sternum
• Floating rib – articulates with nothing

STERNUM
• Midventral skeletal structure
• Endochondral in origin
• Arises within the connective tissue septum and
adjacent myosepta
FUNCTIONS
• Offers a site for attachment of chest muscles
• Secures the ventral tips of true ribs to complete the
rib cage
• Rib cage consists of the ribs and sternal elements
that embrace the viscera
IN ANIMALS
• May consist of a single bony plate
• Fishes - lack a sternum
• absent in the first fossil amphibian
• Urodele - a single midventral sternal plate that
is grooved along its anterior borders to receive
the ventral elements of the shoulder girdle
• Anurans - sternum is a single element called
the xiphi sternum; often tipped with cartilage
called the xiphoid cartilage
o Xiphoid cartilage lies posterior to the
girdle
o Homosternum capped by the episternal
cartilage, lies anterior to the girdle
• Sternum is absent in turtles, snakes, and many
limbless lizards but is found in other reptiles
• Birds – sternum is distinctive because of size,
large as flight muscles attach in the sternum
o Keel/carina – found in the sternum,
provide additional surface for flight
muscle attachment
• Most mammal sterna consist of a chain of
ossified elements
• Gastralia - lie posterior to the sternum
o Are abdominal ribs
o dermal in origin
o restricted to the ventral body wall
o do not articulate with the vertebra
o found in lizards, crocodiles