The anatomy of the

skull.

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 OBJECTIVES

Name the cranial bones and facial bones and indicate

the number of each.

• Describe the following unique features of the skull:

sutures, paranasal sinuses, and fontanels.

• Outline the age-related changes and sexual

differences in the skull.

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 Anterior view of the skull.

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Frontal squama, - a thick, scalelike plate of bone that forms the forehead.
At the superior border of the orbits the frontal bone thickens, forming the
supraorbital margin.
Within the supraorbital margin, slightly medial to its midpoint, is a hole called
the supraorbital foramen through which the supraorbital nerve and artery pass.
 Sometimes this foramen is incomplete and is called the supraorbital notch.
 Near the midline, within the vertical portion of the frontal squama, the bone is
hollow. These hollow spaces are the paranasal sinuses called the frontal sinuses.
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The location and surface features of the
parietal bones.

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 The coronal suture, where the parietal bones meet the frontal bone anteriorly.
 The sagittal suture, where the parietal bones meet superiorly at the cranial midline.
 The lambdoid suture , where the parietal bones meet the occipital bone posteriorly.
 The squamous suture, where a parietal and temporal bone meet on the lateral aspect
of the skull.

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The two temporal bones (tempor-=temple) form the inferior lateral aspects of
the cranium and part of the cranial floor. The terms temporal and temple are
derived from the Latin word tempus, meaning “time,” in reference to the
graying of hair in the temple area, a sign of time’s passing.

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  Temporal squama, -forms the anterior and
superior part of the temple.
 Projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic
process, which articulates with the temporal
process of the zygomatic bone.
 Together, the zygomatic process of the
temporal bone and the temporal process of
the zygomatic bone form the zygomatic arch.
 On the inferoposterior surface of the
zygomatic process of the temporal bone is a
socket called the mandibular fossa.
 The mandibular fossa and articular tubercle
articulate with the mandible to form the
temporomandibular joint.
 Styloid process -serves as a point of
attachment for muscles and ligaments of the
tongue and neck.
 Between the styloid process and the mastoid
process is the stylomastoid foramen,
through which the facial (VII) nerve and
stylomastoid artery pass .
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At the floor of the cranial cavity is the petrous portion. This portion is pyramidal and located at the base of the
skull between the sphenoid and occipital bones. The petrous portion houses the internal ear and the middle
ear, structures involved in hearing and equilibrium.
It also contains the carotid foramen, through which the carotid artery passes. Posterior to the carotid foramen
and anterior to the occipital bone is the jugular foramen, a passageway for the jugular vein, formed by adjacent
notches in the temporal and occipital bones.

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 - The foramen magnum is in the inferior part of the bone.
- Within this foramen, the medulla oblongata connects with the spinal cord.
- The vertebral arteries, spinal arteries, and accessory (XI) nerve also pass through this foramen.
- The occipital condyles are two oval processes with convex surfaces, one on either side of the
foramen magnum. They articulate with depressions on the first cervical vertebra (atlas) to form the
atlanto-occipital joints.
- The external occipital protuberance is the most prominent midline projection on the posterior
surface of the bone just superior to the foramen magnum. A large fibrous, elastic ligament, the
ligamentum nuchae, which helps support the head, extends from the external occipital protuberance
to the seventh cervical vertebra.
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Superior to each occipital condyle on the inferior
surface of the skull is the hypoglossal canal, through
which the hypoglossal (XII) nerve and a branch of
the ascending pharyngeal artery pass.
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The sphenoid bone lies at the middle part of the base of the skull. This bone is
called the keystone of the cranial floor because it articulates with all the other
cranial bones, holding them together.

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 The sella turcica is a bony, saddle-shaped
structure on the superior surface of the body of
the sphenoid. The anterior part of the sella turcica
is a ridge called the tuberculum sellae. The seat
of the saddle is a depression, the hypophyseal
fossa which contains the pituitary gland. The
posterior part of the sella turcica, is ridge called
the dorsum sellae. Between the body and lesser
wing just anterior to the sella turcica is the optic
foramen or canal Lateral to the body -the
superior orbital fissure.
The pterygoid processes extend from the
inferior part of the sphenoid bone. At the base of
the lateral pterygoid process in the greater wing is
the foramen ovale, an opening for the
mandibular branch of the trigeminal (V) nerve.
Another foramen, the foramen spinosum
transmits the middle meningeal blood vessels.
The foramen lacerum transmits a branch of the
ascending pharyngeal artery and numerous
emissary veins.
The foramen rotundum -the maxillary branch of
the trigeminal (V) nerve passes through the
foramen rotundum.

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The unpaired ethmoid bone is a delicate bone located in the
anterior part of the cranial floor between the two orbits and is
spongelike in appearance.
 The ethmoid bone forms:
 Part of the anterior
portion of the cranial
floor;
 The thin, medial wall of
the orbits;
 The superior portion of
the nasal septum, a
partition that divides the
nasal cavity into right and
left sides;
 Most of the superior
sidewalls of the nasal
cavity.

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 - The perpendicular plate of
the ethmoid bone projects
inferiorly in the median
plane and forms the
superior part of the nasal
septum, which divides the
nasal cavity into right and
left halves.
- lateral mass riddled with
sinuses called ethmoidal
air cells.
- superior and middle
nasal conchae.
- orbital plates because
they contribute to the
medial walls of the orbits.
- Cribriform plates.
- The crista galli. The outermost covering
of the brain (the dura mater) attaches to the
crista galli and helps secure the brain in the
cranial cavity.

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 Sexual Differences in the Skull

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