The human skull contains 22 bones. The cranium makes up most of the skill and comprises 8 bones. The other 14 form the lower front of the skull including the facial bones.
Bones of the Cranium
The anatomy of the skull comprises the Cranium and Facial bones. The following make up the Cranium:
Frontal bone
The Frontal bone is one of the major cranial bones. It comprises the forehead (squama frontalis) and the upper orbit of the eye (pars orbitalis). The front of the top of the head roughly covers the frontal lobes of the brain.
Parietal bones
The Parietal bones form the largest part of the top and sides of the cranium. There are two parietal bones which are roughly the shape of a curved rectangle.
Temporal bones
There are two Temporal bones in the cranium, each supporting part of the face known as the temple. The temporal bones are crucial in the anatomy of the ear.
Ethmoid bone
The Ethmoid bone differs from the other bones in the cranium in that it is a spongy bone as opposed to a hard bone. The name derives from the Greek ethnos meaning sieve and divides the nasal cavity from the brain.
Sphenoid bones
There are 2 Sphenoid bones, each situated behind the eyes at the base of the skull in front of the Temporals. The Sphenoid bone has contact with all the other cranial bones. This is because of its shape.
Occipital bone
The Occipital bone forms the back of the skull and the base of the cranium. A large oval hole called the foramen magum allows the spinal cord to pass up into the skull.
Facial bones
The mandible (jawbone) and vomer are the only bones in the face which are unpaired. The other twelve bones are in pairs, which gives the face its symmetry.
The fourteen bones include:
- Inferior Nasal Conchae x 2
- Lacrimal Bones x 2
- Maxillae x 2
- Nasal Bones x 2
- Palatine Bones x 2
- Zygomatic Bones x 2
- Mandible
- Vomer
