The Cranium: A General Overview

The Cranium, also called the "Skull," describes the skeleton of the head, face and
mandible.

It is a portion of the axial skeleton, or that portion associated with the central nervous
system. Those portions of the skeleton not associated with the central nervous system,
are associated with the appendicular skeleton or the extremities (i.e., the arms and
legs).

The axial skeleton consists of the cranium, all the osseous elements of the vertebral
column, the ribs, and the sternum.

In an adult, various of the bones of the cranium are paired left and a right, while
others, which cross the mid-sagittal plane, are unpaired. Furthermore, the bones of the
skull are classified as those which are called Cranial Bones, or contribute to that
portion surrounding the brain, or Facial Bones (i.e., those which do not assist in
forming the braincase).

Glossary of Terms

Osteology terms:

• Cranium
The cranium of the skull comprises all of the bones of the skull
except for the mandible.
• Skull
The skull refers to all of the bones that comprise the head.
• Calvaria
The calvaria refers to the cranium without the facial bones
attached.
• Calotte
The calotte consists of the calvaria from which the base has
been removed.
• Splanchocranium
The splanchocranium refers to the facial bones of the skull.
• Neurocranium
The neurocranium refers only to the braincase of the skull.
• Endocranial
Refers to the interior of the braincase.
 • Axial
Refers to the head and trunk (vertebrae, ribs and sternum) of
the body.
• Suture
The saw-like edge of a cranial bone that serves as joint
between bones of the skull.
• Aperture
An opening or space between bones or within a bone.
• Cavity
An open area or sinus within a bone or formed by two or more
bones.
• Condyle
A rounded enlargement or process possessing an artculating
surface.
• Fissure
A narrow slit or gap.
• Foramen
A hole in a bone usually for the transmission of blood vessels
and/or nerves.
• Fossa
A pit, depression, or concavity, on a bone, or formed from
several bones.
• Process
A general term describing any marked projection or
prominence.
• Spinous
Descriptive of a sharp, slender process.
• Tubercle
A small process or bump, an eminence.
• Tuberosity
A large rounded process or eminence.

Anatomical terms:

• Mid-sagittal plane
The imaginary plane that transects the the body along the mid-
point into mirrored left and right sides.
• Anterior
A relative term meaning nearer the front of the body, in a
biped it also means ventral.
 • Posterior
A relative term meaning nearer the back of the body, in a
biped it also means dorsal.
• Inferior
The relative term meaning below or of the lower portion of the
body.
• Superior
The relative term meaning nearer the top or of the upper
portion of the body.
• Proximal
A relative term indicating a point nearer the trunk or axial
skeleton, a point nearer the mid-sagittal plane.
• Distal
A relative term indicating a point that lies farther from the
trunk or away from the mid-sagittal plane.
• Medial
The relative term indicating a point lying nearer the mid-
sagittal plane.
• Lateral
The relative term indicating a point lying farther from the mid-
sagittal plane or the midline of the body.
• Lingual
Areas nearer the tongue or oral cavity.
• Labial
Areas nearer the lips or cheeks.

SKULL
• The bony casing of the head of humans.

• consists primarily of the

1. cranium (the protective casing of the brain) and

2. the bones of the face, which include the

• maxilla (upper jaw bone),

• mandible (lower jaw bone),

• zygomatic bones (cheekbones), and the

• nasal bones.
 • Closely associated with, but not strictly part of, the skull are the

- hyoid (a small bone at the back of the tongue) and the

- auditory ossicles (three tiny

bones in each middle ear
NAMELY: _________,
_____________ AND
____________).

A normal adult human skull

has 8 bones in the cranium
and 14 in the face.

o This makes a total of 29 if the 6

auditory ossicles and one hyoid
are also included. None of these
bones are moveable except for
the joint between the lower jaw
and the rest of the skull.

o The foramen magnum is a large

opening at the base of the skull
through which the spinal cord
passes from the brain.

A human skull is almost full sized

at birth. However the 8 bones
Human skull, front view
that make up the cranium are
not yet fused together. This
means that the skull can flex
and deform during birth,
making it easier for to deliver a baby through the narrow birth
canal. The individual plates of bone fuse together after about 24
months to form the adult skull.
The Individual Bones

Each of the bones of the cranium posses a number of distinctive features which not
only allow the bone to be identified, but also permit its exact location and orientation
in the body to be determined (i.e., as a left or right, medial- lateral, posterior-anterior,
inferior-superior, etc.).

Paired Cranial Bones:

1. The Parietal Bones

 The parietal bones are two of the largest bones of the skull. Together they form
a large portion of the sides and roof of the cranium. Each bone has the shape of
an irregular quadrilateral, and has two surfaces, four borders, and four angles.
The Latin parietalis means "of a wall."

Each parietal bone articulates with the other parietal bone in the midline (top of
the head), with the frontal bone in front of it, with the occipital bone behind it,
and with the sphenoid and temporal bones lower down on the side of the skull.
The parietal bones are separated from each other by the sagittal suture, from
the frontal bone by the coronal suture, and from the occipital bone by the
lambdoid suture.

The Parietals are paired left and right. Externally, each possess a Superior, and
Inferior Temporal Line, to which the temporal muscle is attached. The lines run
from the Frontal Crest of the anterior frontal bone to the Supra-Mastoid Crest on
the posterior portion of the temporal bone. The parietals articulate with each other by
way of the Mid-Sagittal Suture, and with the frontal bone anteriorly by way of the
Coronal Suture. These two sutures generally form a right angle with one another.
Posteriorly, the parietals articulate with the Occipital Bone by way of the Lambdoid
Suture. The intersection of the Lambdoid and Sagittal Sutures approximate a 120
degree angle on each of the parietals and the occipital bone. Among the sutures the
Lambdoid is by far more serrated than either the Sagittal or the Coronal. Inferiorly the
Parietal articulates with the temporal bone by way of the Squamosal and Parieto-
Mastoid Sutures. On the external surface near the center of the bone is the Parietal
Eminence. Slightly posterior to the eminence there may be a Parietal Foramen.

Internally, the bones possess a number of Meningeal Groves as well as perhaps some
number of Arachnoid Foveae. The groves generally branch from the inferior/anterior
edge of the bone to superior/posterior, while the foveae are freqquenly found along
the sagittal suture. At the area of intersection of the lambdoid and parieto-mastoid
sutures there is a brief portion of the Sigmoid (i.e., Transverse) Sulcus.

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