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Unit 4: The Axial Skeleton Bone Packet
Instructions:
1. Label all of the required (the ones I want you to know) bones and structures of the bones on the pictures shown on the following
pages, using the “Axial Bone Terms List” (below) as your guide. Use your textbook figures as a reference. The corresponding
textbook figure is indicated for each picture. YOU ONLY NEED TO LABEL THE BONES AND STRUCTURES LISTED IN
YOUR AXIAL BONE TERMS LIST (BELOW). You do not need to learn (or label) any structure that is not on the list. Do not learn
a bunch of extra material by mistake!
2. For each Bone: draw a line to the bone and write out its name in all CAPITAL letters. (Your textbook indicates bones with bold
print)
3. For each Structure: draw a line to the structure and write out its name in small case letters. (Your textbook indicates structures of
bones with regular print)
4. Be sure to write small and clearly so that you can fit in all of the terms on the page. It is also recommended that you use a pencil, so
that you can erase your mistakes. Note: This packet is meant to act as a study guide for you to prepare for the Unit 4 Exam. If you
wish, you may use colored pencils to color in the different bones of the skull, or come up with some other way to make this an even
better study guide for you. In other words, you have creative freedom, as long as everything is properly labeled.
5. Keep in mind that your Unit 4 Exam is a “practical.” That means that it will use bone specimens (plastic and real) and not pictures.
The pictures that I have provided are for practice when you are not in the BLC (e.g. home). Use your lab time effectively. You should
already know the names and locations of each of the structures in the diagrams in your textbook before coming to lab each day.
If you are just starting to study the bones when you come into the BLC, you are going to end up spending a lot of time in the learning
center. Do your preparation with the pictures at home!
6. You will need to use a Skull and the Axial Bones Kit containing the sternum, ribs, vertebrae, etc. The Skull must be checked out
from the front desk -- you will need to leave a picture ID with a staff member. You may get the Axial Bones Kit (Kit #83, Kit #102,
or Kit #107; all of these kits are the same) yourself from the drawer in the A&P area. You may take the Skull or Axial Bone Kit to
your desk to study, but you may only have one item or the other at a time (not both). You need to let other students use the bone
specimens, especially when it gets close to the deadline for this unit. The BLC staff may ask you to share.
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7. DO NOT use a pen or pencil to point to a structure on a bone. Be sure to use an applicator stick to point to structures on skulls and
other bones (pens and pencils will leave marks on the specimens). The thin stick is also very useful for seeing the foramina (holes) of
the skull from more than one view. For example, if you find a particular hole in the superior view of the skull, you can push the stick
through the hole to see the same hole in the inferior view. This will save you a lot of time.
8. Be sure that you can pronounce the names of all bones and structures correctly. Ask a staff member for help or consult your
textbook if you are not sure how to pronounce a term.
9. Success on the Axial Skeleton Practicum (Unit 4 Exam) will only come from adequate repetition both at home and in lab. Repeat
all of the Unit 4 exercises until you can identify everything correctly without the use of your notes or textbook.
10. Try to not just memorize the terms. Look at Table 6.1 in your book for the meaning of some of the bone markings. For example,
let’s consider the structure “supraorbital foramen.” Foramen means “hole” and “supra-“ means superior to or above. Thus, this
structure is a hole above the orbit (eye socket). If you find meaning in some of the bone structures, it will save you time studying.
11. Use the fully articulated skeletons in the A&P area to help you see how the axial bones articulate with one another. Look at the
colored skull for help in identifying the skull bones. Each skull bone is shown with a different color.
12. This is a fairly thick packet. I suggest stapling it as two smaller, separate packets. One with the instructions, axial bone terms list,
and skull pics, and another one with the rest of the axial skeleton pics (vertebrae, ribs, sternum, fetal skull, etc.). You will need to
show all of the completed packet to a BLC staff member in order to receive your signoff for this step.
13. ASK FOR HELP! If you come across a structure or bone that confuses you, ask one of the BLC staff members to help you. We
expect you to find most of the bones and structures of the bones on your own, but we know that some of them can be tricky.
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AXIAL BONE TERMS LIST:
Using the figures in Chapter 7 of your textbook, find all of the bones (shown as bold) and structures of the bones (shown in
parentheses) of the axial skeleton as listed below. Only learn the ones that are listed in this assignment. Be sure that you understand
the difference between a “bone” and its “corresponding structures”. Many bones and structures are listed more than once, because
they can be seen in several different views. Make sure that you are looking at the bone specimen in the exact same view (e.g. anterior,
posterior, lateral, superior, etc.) as the corresponding figure in the book. Then find all of the terms that are listed for this view. Repeat
until you can do it from memory (without the book). If you are having trouble with the orientation of the bone pics, ask for help from
a staff member.
Fig. 7.4 (a) Anterior view of skull: frontal bone (frontal squama, glabella, supraorbital foramen), parietal bone, lacrimal bone,
nasal bone, sphenoid bone (optic canal, superior orbital fissure, inferior orbital fissure), temporal bone, zygomatic bone, maxilla
(infraorbital foramen), mandible (mental foramen, mandibular symphysis), ethmoid bone (middle nasal concha, perpendicular plate),
inferior nasal concha, vomer bone.
Fig. 7.4 (b) Posterior view of skull: parietal bone (sagittal suture), occipital bone (lambdoid suture, superior nuchal line, external
occipital protuberance, inferior nuchal line).
Fig. 7.5 (a) Lateral aspect of the skull (external anatomy): parietal bone, occipital bone (lambdoid suture, occipitomastoid suture),
temporal bone (squamous suture, zygomatic process, mastoid process, external acoustic meatus, styloid process), frontal bone
(coronal suture), lacrimal bone, nasal bone, zygomatic bone, maxilla (alveolar margin), mandible (mandibular angle, mandibular
ramus, mandibular notch, mandibular condyle, coronoid process, mental foramen, alveolar margin), sphenoid bone (greater wing).
Fig. 7.6 (a,b) Inferior aspect of the skull (inferior view): maxilla (palatine process, incisive fossa), palatine bone (horizontal plate),
temporal bone (zygomatic process, mandibular fossa, styloid process, mastoid process, carotid canal, external acoustic meatus,
stylomastoid foramen, jugular foramen), sphenoid bone (greater wing, foramen ovale, foramen lacerum), vomer bone, occipital
bone (occipital condyle, foramen magnum, inferior nuchal line, superior nuchal line, external occipital protuberance).
Fig. 7.7 (a,b) Inferior aspect of the skull (superior view): frontal bone (anterior cranial fossa), temporal bone (middle cranial fossa,
internal acoustic meatus, jugular foramen), occipital bone (posterior cranial fossa, foramen magnum, hypoglossal canal), sphenoid
bone (greater wing, lesser wing, optic canal, foramen rotundum, foramen ovale, foramen spinosum, foramen lacerum, sella turcica),
ethmoid bone (cribriform plate, olfactory foramina, crista galli)
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Fig. 7.12 The hyoid bone: hyoid bone (lesser horn, greater horn); you will need to get Kit #232 to see this bone.
Fig. 7.11 (a) Mandible: mandible (mandibular condyle, mandibular notch, coronoid process, mandibular foramen, alveolar margin,
mental foramen, mandibular angle, ramus, body).
Fig. 7.18 Structure of a typical vertebra (use a thoracic vertebra as your example): (body or centrum, vertebral foramen, spinous
process, transverse process, lamina, pedicle, superior articular process
Fig. 7.19 (a) Superior view of atlas: identify this bone as being the first cervical vertebra, specifically called the atlas. Look at one of
the articulated skeletons in the A&P area to see how the skull articulates directly with the atlas (the skull rests on the atlas).
Fig. 7.19 (c) Superior view of axis: identify this bone as being the second cervical vertebra, specifically called the axis. Find the
structure called the dens (odontoid process).
Table 7.2 Types of vertebrae: in the pictures in your lab assignment label each of the 3 types of vertebrae as either cervical, thoracic,
or lumbar. Hint: look for presence of transverse foramina and bifid spinous processes (cervical vertebrae), absence of transverse
foramina but presence of facets for ribs (thoracic vertebrae), or absence of transverse foramina, absence of facets for ribs, and large
body (lumbar vertebrae). Circle and label the structures on the pictures that helped identify the type of vertebra; you will be expected
to identify vertebra “types” on your exam. Figure 7.16 in your book will also help you identify the types. Be sure to look at a model
of the entire vertebral column in the A&P area, so that you see how the various vertebrae articulate with one another.
Fig. 7.21 (a,b) Sacrum and coccyx: sacrum (sacral promontory, transverse ridge, anterior sacral foramina, apex, ala, median sacral
crest, superior articular process, sacral canal, lateral sacral crest, sacral hiatus, posterior sacral foramina), coccyx
Fig. 7.22 (a) Sternum: sternum (jugular notch, clavicular notch, manubrium, body, xiphoid process)
Fig. 7.23 (a) Ribs: rib (angle, shaft, head, neck, tubercle)
Fig. 7.35 (a,b) Fetal/Newborn skull: note the structures called the anterior fontanel, posterior fontanel, mastoid fontanel, and
sphenoidal fontanel. Note: the 8th edition book uses the term fontanelle instead of fontanel. We will still use fontanel.
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Look at these Demos:
Demo Colored Skull Model (on A&P counter) - this model is helpful if you are having trouble identifying the boundaries of the
various skull bones. Each skull bone is a different color.
Demo Exploded Skull Model (on A&P counter) - shows disarticulated bones of the skull; helpful in seeing the ethmoid and sphenoid
bones, which are almost completely embedded, and difficult to see, in an articulated skull; KEY: A = ethmoid bone, B = sphenoid
bone, C = temporal bone, D = vomer bone.
Copyright© 2009. Robert Wakefield. All rights reserved. To request permission to use materials contained on this website please send an email to Robert
Wakefield at rwakefield@pima.edu
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fig 7.4a
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fig 7.4b
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fig 7.5a
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fig 7.6a,b
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fig 7.7a,b
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fig 7.12
fig 7.11a
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fig 7.18
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fig 7.19a,c
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Table 7.2
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fig 7.21a,b
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fig 7.22a
fig 7.23a
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fig 7.35a,b