SKULL
Dr. Nivin Sharaf MD
LMCC
Objectives
• Brain storm basic functions of the human skull
• To identify basic anatomical features of the skull
• To be able to recognize different bony landmarks of the
skull
• To Identify outer bony features of bones of the skull
• Identify sutures, pterion, and base of the skull “outer
view”
• Understand importance of different bony foramina of
the skull” details TB discussed in CNS”
Parts
SKULL
The skull has 22 bones, excluding the ossicles of the ear.
Except for the mandible, which forms the lower jaw, the
bones of the skull are attached to each other by sutures, are
immobile, and form the cranium.
•The cranium can be subdivided into: an upper part (the
calvaria), which surrounds the cranial cavity containing the
brain;
•a lower anterior part-the facial skeleton (viscerocranium).
The bones forming the calvaria are the paired temporal and
parietal bones, and the unpaired frontal, sphenoid, ethmoid,
and occipital bones.
The bones forming the facial skeleton are the paired nasal
bones, palatine bones, lacrimal bones, zygomatic bones,
maxillae, inferior nasal conchae, and the unpaired vomer.
The mandible is not part of the cranium nor part of the facial
skeleton.
Neck
The neck extends from the head
above to the shoulders and
thorax below . Its superior
boundary is along the inferior
margins of the mandible and
bone features on the posterior
aspect of the skull. The posterior
neck is higher than the anterior
neck to connect cervical viscera
with the posterior openings of
the nasal and oral cavities.
Regions(Anterior View)
Facial Skeleton consists of 14
irregular bones:
Lacrimal 2
Nasal 2
Maxillae 2
Zygomatic 2
Palatine 2
Inferior conchae 2
Mandible 1
Vomer 1
Regions Cont.
Regions (Extended neck)
Regions Lateral View Cont.
http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/skull/SkullSlideshow1/index_PP1.htm
8 bones form
the adult’s
Neurocranium
Frontal
Parietal 2
Temporal 2
Occipital 1
Sphenoid1
Ethmoid 1
Glabella
Metopic suture
Posterior View &Sutures
Superior View &Sutures Cont.
Sutures Cont.
Skull: Simple Lateral View
Skull
Lateral
Anatomical
View
Observe
The
Pterion:
Intersects the
course of the
anterior division
of the middle
meningeal artery
Pterion..
How to
identify
surface
anatomy?
Inferior
View
FYI!
Inferior View Foramina
Ethmoid (olfactory)
I. Olfactory
Sphenoid (optic)
II. Optic
III. Oculomotor
IV. Trochlear
VI. Abducens
Temporal (otic)
VIII. Acoustic/Auditory/
Vestibulocochlear
Face/Jaws
V. Trigeminal
VII. Facial
Throat (rest of body)
IX Glossopharyngeal
X. Vagus
XI. Spinal Accessory
XII. Hypoglosal
The
Cranial
Cavity
Sphenoid bone
FYI!!
Cont. Important openings &structures
passing through them( Base of skull)
FYI!!
Mandible
Mandible
• The final bony structure visible in a lateral view of the skull is
the mandible.
• Inferiorly in the anterior part of this view, it consists of the
anterior body of mandible, a posterior ramus of mandible, and
the angle of mandible where the inferior margin of the mandible
meets the posterior margin of the ramus
• The teeth are in the alveolar part of mandible of the body and
the mental protuberance is visible in this view.
• The mental foramen is on the lateral surface of the body and
on the superior part of the ramus a condylar and coronoid
process extend upwards.
• The condylar process is involved in articulation of the
mandible with the temporal bone and the coronoid process is
the point of attachment for the temporalis muscle.
References
• Clinical Anatomy by Region “Vishal”6th edition
• Clinically oriented anatomy “Keith Moore”
Fourth edition
• 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Gray’s Anatomy for students
• http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/s
kull/skulltt.htm