ANAPHY Lesson 9

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY (LAB)
LESSON 9: SKULL
 The bones in the skull can be divided into 3 groups: bones of the cranial vault, bones of the face, and the bones of
the middle ear.
 The skull is the most complex region of the skeletal system and not only houses the brain but also contains a
significant number of sense organs.
ANTERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL
 The large bone the makeup the forehead is the frontal bone. It is a single bone that makes up the superior portion
of the orbits ( eye socket ) and has two ridges above the eyes called the supraorbital margins (eyebrows). There are
holes in each of these ridges, called supraorbital
foramina, where nerves and arteries reach the face.
 The bony part of the nose is composed of paired nasal
bones, which join with the cartilage that forms the tip
of the nose. Posterior to the nasal bones are thin
strips of the upper maxillae, bones that hold the
upper teeth. Posterior to the maxilla are the thin
lacrimal bones, which contains the naso lacrimal
canal, a tube that drains tears from the eye to the
nose. Posterior to the lacrimal bone is the ethmoid
bone, which is very delicate and frequently broken on
skulls that have been mishandled.
 Posterior to the superior part of the ethmoid is the
sphenoid bone, which forms the posterior wall of the
orbit and contains not only the optic canal but also
the superior orbital fissure and the inferior orbital
fissure. Zygomatic bones are the bones at the lateral
side of the orbit.
 The major bone below the orbit is the maxilla, which
also makes up the floor of the orbit. The two maxillae
have sockets called alveoli, which contain the teeth and extensions of
bone between each pair of sockets called alveolar processes. The
infraorbital foramen, a small hole below the eye in the maxilla, is a
passageway for nerves and blood vessels. The most inferior bone to
the face is the mandible.
SUPERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL

 The frontal bone is separated from the pair of parietal bones by the coronal suture. The parietal bones are
separated from one another by the sagittal suture. The parietal bones are are separated from the occipital bone by
the lambdoid suture. The lambdoid suture is named after the greek letter lambda, which is an inverted y shape.
LATERAL VIEW OF THE SKULL
 FIND: Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal,

sphenoid, and ethmoid bones, coronal
suture, lambdoid suture, squamous suture.
 You may be able to see a bump at the back
of the occipital bone from this angle this is
known as the external occipital
protuberance. The hole on the side of the
head where the ear attaches is the external
acoustic meatus (external audiptory canal).
The large process posterior and inferior to
this opening is the mastoid process. A long
thin spine medial to the mastoid process is
the styloid process, which has muscles that
connect it to the hyoid bone, tongue and
larynx.
 The zygomatic arch which makes up the upper part of the cheek and is commonly known as the cheekbone. The
zygomatic arch is compose of the zygomatic process of the temporal bone and the temporal process of the
zygomatic bone.
 The mandible has a condylar process, with a terminal mandibular condyle, articulating with the temporal bone; a
coronoid process, which lies medial to the zygomatic arch; and a mandibular notch, a depression between the
condylar process and coronoid process. The vertical section of the mandible is the mandibular ramus, and the
horizontal portion of the mandible is the body.
INFERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL
 The largest hole in the skull, the foramen magnum.

Is in the occipital bone and is the boundary
between the brain and spinal cord. Lateral to the
foramen magnum are the occipital condyles, which
are processes that articulates with the first cervical
vertebra. At the junction of the occipital bone and
the temporal bone is the jugular foramen, a hole
through which the internal jugular vein passes.
 The mastoid process of the temporal bone and a
depression just medial to the process is known as
the mastoid notch. Medial to the styloid process is
the carotid canal, through which passes the
internal carotid artery carrying blood to the brain.
At the junction of the temporal bone and the
sphenoid bone is the foramen lacerum, which is
next to the carotid canal.
 The sphenoid bone traverse the skull. The greater
wings of the sphenoid are the most lateral parts of the bone. Two pairs of flattened processes are also seen in this
view, the lateral pterygoid plates and the medial pterygoid plates.
 In the midline of the skull and sometimes looking like a part of the sphenoid is the vomer. This is a single bone in the
face that forms part of the nasal septum. The two large holes on each side of the vomer are the internal nares.
Connected to the vomer and forming part of the hard palate is the palatine bone. The horizontal plates normally
join at the median palatine suture. If this suture does not fuse completely at birth, an individual has a cleft palate.
INTERIOR OF THE CRANIAL VAULT

 The cranial cavity is divided into three major regions. These are the anterior cranial fossa, a depression anterior to
the lesser wings of the sphenoid; the middle cranial fossae, which lie between the lesser wings of the sphenoid and
the petrous portion of the temporal bone; and the
posterior cranial fossa, which is posterior to the
petrous portion of the temporal bone.
 Ethmoid bone, centrally located. A sharp ridge known
as the crista galli projects from the main portion of this
bone. The small horizontal plate of bone with numerous
holes lateral to the crista galli is the cribriform plate.
 The dividing line between the anterior and middle
cranial fossae is the sphenoid bone. The sella turcica
has a small depression called hypophyseal fossa, in
which the pituitary gland sits. The posterior, raised part
of the sella turcica is known as the dorsum sellae. The
greater wings of the sphenoid are more inferior than
the lesser wings, and each one contains the foramen
rotundom, which takes a branch of the trigeminal
nerve to the maxilla.
MIDASGITTAL SECTION OF THE SKULL

 The nasal septum, which is composed of the vomer,
the perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone, and the
nasal cartilage. If the nasal septum is removed, you
should be able to see the superior nasal concha and
the middle nasal concha, which is a separate bone.
SINUSES
 There are many sinuses and air cells in the skull. These sinuses
provide shape of the skull while decreasing its weight, and some
also add resonance to the voice. The paranasal sinuses are located
around the region of the nose and are named for the bones on
which they are found. They include the frontal sinus, the maxillary
sinus, the ethmoid sinuses, and the sphenoidal sinus.
FETAL SKULL
 The development of the skull is problematic in humans because we are large-brained, bipedal mammals. In humans, the adult
brain is more than three times the size of the newborn. Our hips are narrow, which provides for efficient locomotion, yet our
skulls are large. It is difficult for a narrow-hipped mammal to give birth to a large headed infant. One adaptation that solved this
problem is significant brain growth after birth. This increas after birth is due to fontanels (soft spot) in the skull that allow for
both the passage of the skull through the birth
canal and the growth of the skull during
childhood.
 Fontanels are large, membranous regions in an
infant’s skull. There are four set of fontanels,
and some of these permit the passage of the
skull through the birth canal by enabling the
bones of the cranium to slide over one another.
 The frontal fontanel (anterior) is between the
frontal bone and the parietal bones. The
occipital (posterior) fontanelis between the
occipital bone and the parietal bones. The
sphenoidal (anterolateral) fontanels are paired
structures on each side of the skull and are
located superior to the sphenoid bone. The
mastoid (posterolateral) fontanels are also
paired structures posterior to the temporal bone.
Most fontanels fuse before 1 year of age, although the frontal fontanel may fuse as late as age 2.

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ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY (LAB)

ANTERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL

SUPERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL

LATERAL VIEW OF THE SKULL

 FIND: Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal,

INFERIOR VIEW OF THE SKULL

 The largest hole in the skull, the foramen magnum.

INTERIOR OF THE CRANIAL VAULT

MIDASGITTAL SECTION OF THE SKULL

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