Anth 480 Human Osteology
CRANIAL SUTURES
Typically, these are named for the two bones (or portions thereof) which they connect, so:
frontozygomatic, or intermaxillary, or petrosquamosal. Exceptions are:
coronal – Parietal/Frontal
sagittal – Parietal/Parietal
squamosal – Parietal/Temporal
basilar (basi-occiptal synchondrosis) – Occipital/Sphenoid
metopic (a variant)
FRONTAL
coronal suture
frontal boss - site of primary ossif. Centers
temporal lines (Superior and inferior temporal lines - temporalis fascia and muscle)
zygomatic process
superciliary arches
supra-orbital margins
supra-orbital notch, or foramen, or nothing - supraorb. nerve and vessels
sagittal sulcus - for the superior sagittal sinus
frontal crest - for falx cerebri
f. cecum - emissary vein to superior sagittal sinus? (usu. not patent)
Note grooves for cerebral gyri and and furrows (small!) for mening. vessels
orbital plate
frontal sinuses - Frontonasal canal to middle meatus of the schnoz
PARIETAL
parietal boss - site of two ossif. center
temporal lines (Superior and inferior temporal lines - see frontal)
parietal foramen - for emissary vein, so often not there
meningeal grooves (Grooves for middle meningeal artery (and vein) - entered through f.
spinosum)
sagittal sulcus
arachnoid fovea - for arachnoid granulations, so may or may not be present
Sagittal border - long, thick, dentated
Squamosal border - 3 portions, note the shape of each
Frontal border - Bevelled externally above, internally below
Occipital border - deeply serrated
Frontal angle (bregma)
Sphenoidal angle (pterion) - very deep groove (canal?) for frontal branch of mid.
mening. art.
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Occipital angle (lambda)
Mastoid angle (asterion)
sigmoid sulcus - beginning thereof, or end of the transverse sulcus
TEMPORAL
squamous portion
petrous portion
external auditory meatus
zygomatic process
supramastoid crest, suprameatal crest - End of the line for the temporal line
suprameatal triangle (and spine) - mastoid antrum is medial to this, but you can't see it
parietal notch – know the shape of the sutures, where squamosal becomes parietomastoid suture
mastoid process – Sternocleidomastoid muscle, also splenius and longissimus capitis
mastoid foramen – for another emissary vein (and sometimes a branch of the occipital artery to
the dura), so not always present
digastric groove - for posterior belly of digastric muscle
Tubercle of Taxman (juxtamastoid tubercle)
occipital groove - for occip. artery, an end branch of ext. carotid
articular eminence (or tubercle)
mandibular fossa
postglenoid process
tympanic portion
I'll have a tegmen tympani on squamotympanic fissure and petrotympanic fissure (hold the
anterior canaliculus for the chorda tympani)(but seriously, "st" fissure is more anterior, "pt" more
posterior, and you won't see the canaliculus)
styloid process – for stylohyoid ligament, and muscles that start with “stylo”
jugular fossa - int. jugular vein (and CN IX, X, XI)
carotid canal - for the int. carotid artery
grooves for the middle meningeal vessels – ultimately, the arterial branches trace back to the f.
spinosum
Internal auditory meatus - for 7th and 8th cranial nerves
sigmoid sulcus (w/ thin lamina to mastoid air cells)
trigeminal impression - for the ganglion
arcuate eminence - anterior semicircular canal
hiatus for the greater petrosal nerve - (the medial one) Branch of CN VII carrying preganglionic
parasymps. to pterygopalatine ganglion
hiatus for the lesser petrosal nerve - (the lateral one) Branch of CN IX w/ parasymps. to otic
ganglion
aqueductus vestibuli (or aqueduct of the vestibule for you less affected types) – for ductus
endolymphaticus
subarcuate fossa - Believe it or not, goes through age changes until about 4 years
canaliculus cochlea (or cochlear canaliculus) - there are two other canaliculi which are so small
we'll never find them
groove for the superior petrosal sinus
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canal for tensor tympani - (the superior one)
auditory tube - (the inferior one)
tympanic dehisence (F. of Huschke) - variation
EAR OSSICLES
malleus
stapes
incus
OCCIPITAL
foramen magnum
external occipital protuberance
superior nuchal line - medial 1/3 for trapezius, sternocleidomastoid (by aponeurosis) onto
lateral 1/2, splenius capitis below lateral 1/3, semispinalis capitis and superior oblique (of the
neck) between superior and inferior lines.
inferior nuchal line - Rectus capitis posterior minor and major are between in. nuchal and f.
magnum
external occipital crest - for ligamentum nuchae
basilar part
occipital condyles
condylar fossa and canal - canal is for emissary vein, so not always present
hypoglossal canal - for CN XII, canal can be bridged if it wants too
jugular process and notch - process is rough for rectus capitis lateralis
cruciform eminence
internal occip. protuberance
sagittal sulcus - for the superior sagittal sinus
internal occipital crest
transverse sulcus
MAXILLA
alveolar process
zygomatic process
infraorbital foramen - for branch of V2
anterior nasal spine
infraorbital sulcus, leading to canal, to foramen
maxillary sinus
frontal process
anterior lacrimal crest – posterior crest is on the lacrimal itself
palatine process
incisive foramen – doesn’t really go anywhere, so sometimes called a fossa, but there’s already
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an incisive fossa
incisive canal – continuous up to the floor of the piriform aperture
groove which becomes greater palatine canal once you add in the perp. plate of palatine
incisive fossa, canine eminence, canine fossa
PALATINE
horizontal plate
greater palatine foramen
posterior nasal spine
lesser palatine foramina
perpendicular plate
pyramidal process (that which sticks twixt the pterygoid plates)
VOMER
alae
perpendicular plate
INFERIOR NASAL CONCHA
Has three processes (lacrimal, ethmoidal, and maxillary) which will have broken off by the time
you see this bone. To know how it "sits" is to know how to side it.
ETHMOID
cribriform plate - for CN I
crista galli - end of falx cerebri
perpendicular plate - artics. w/ nasal spine of frontal and crest of nasal bones, sphenoidal crest
and vomer, septal cartilage
Orbital plate (or lamina paperycia)
LACRIMAL
posterior lacrimal crest
NASAL
foramen for a small vein
ZYGOMATIC
frontal process
temporal process
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maxillary process
zygomaticofacial foramen (mina?) - for exit of nerve of same name
zygomaticoorbital foramen (mina?) - for entrance of branches of zygomatic nerve (those being
zygomaticofacial and zygomaticotemporal)
zygomaticotemporal foramen - for exit of nerve of same name
SPHENOID
body
optic canal – for CN II
sella turcica – looks like a Turkish saddle?
hypophyseal fossa – for the pituitary, a.k.a. the hypophysis
dorsum sellae, with posterior clinoid processes
sphenoidal sinuses
greater wings
superior orbital fissures – twixt greater and lesser wings, for passage of a lot of stuff (CN III,
IV, V1, and VI, veins to cavernous sinus)
foramen rotundum – round, for passage of V2
foramen ovale – oval, for passage of V3
foramen spinosum – by the spine, for passage of middle meningeal artery
infratemporal crest - division between temporal fossa (w/ temporalis muscle) and infratemporal
fossa (w/ lateral pterygoid muscle)
lesser wings
anterior clinoid processes, and between anterior and posterior is the tuberculum sellae, with
middle clinoid processes
pterygoid processes, with medial and lateral pterygoid plates
pterygoid fossa – for medial pterygoid muscle, and note scaphoid fossa for tensor veli palatini,
which hooks around the…
pterygoid hamulus
pterygoid canals – for the nerve of the pterygoid canal
MANDIBLE
body
mental foramen – for mental nerves (end of the line for inferior alveolar)
mylohyoid line – for muscle of same name, sublingual fossa is above, submandibular is below
(glands of same names reside in these fossae)
mandibular torus – like palatine, may or may not be present
mental or mandibular symphysis
mental spines (or genial tubercles) – for genioglossus and geniohyoid muscles
digastric fossa - for insertion of ant. belly of digastric, but usually pretty hard to see
mental protuberance - or chin, if you will
mental tubercles - to either side
ascending ramus
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mandibular condyle - artics. w/ temporal, note that most of it lies medially
condylar neck, with pterygoid fovea for lateral pterygoid
coronoid process - for temporalis muscle, note internal "ridge" for muscle (White calls this the
"endocoronoid ridge" or "butress")
mandibular notch
gonial angle – note attachment area for medial pterygoids internally (White calls these
“pterygoid tuberosities”), and some “lumpy bumpies” externally for masseter (While calls
these the “masseteric tuberosity”)
mandibular foramen (leading into canal) – for inferior alveolar nerve
lingula - for sphenomandibular ligament (from spine of sphenoid)
mylohyoid groove - for nerve of same name (branch of V3) going to ant. belly of digastric and
mylohyoid muscle
HYOID
body - attachment for many muscles with the term "hyoid" in them (geniohyoid, stylohyoid,
omohyoid, mylohyoid, sternohyoid)
greater wing – which means there must be a lesser, but you aren’t likely to see much of it
THYROID CARTILAGE
Usually a cartilage, and hence not directly of osteological interest, but can ossify. Other
laryngeal cartiages (arytenoids and cricoid) can also ossify, but do so later in life.
TEETH
Know them, love them (both deciduous and permanent)