Skull
Skull (Cranium)
The human skull consists of 22 bones (or 29, including the inner ear bones and hyoid
bone) which are mostly connected together by ossified joints, so called sutures.
The skull is divided into the braincase (neurocranium) and the facial
skeleton (viscerocranium). Its main task is the protection of the most important organ in
the human body: the brain.
The brain is almost entirely enclosed by the neurocranium with the exception of the
foramen magnum and other foramina at the skull base which serve as entry and exit point
for blood vessels and cranial nerves. Also, the skull provides support for all of the facial
structures.
, Components and features
Sagittal suture (Sutura sagittalis)
The braincase consists of the skullcap (calvarium) and the skull base. The skull cap is
made up of the pairs of parietal bones and parts of the frontal bone as well as
the occipital bone. The most important sutures in the human skull are:
• the coronal suture (between the frontal and parietal bone)
• the sagittal suture (dividing both the parietal bones)
• the lambdoidal suture (running horizontally between the occipital bone and both parietal bones)
These are the three most significant of all 33 sutures which are formed by the human
skull bones.
The skull base is the inferior portion of the neurocranium. Looking at it from the inside it
can be subdivided into the anterior, middle and posterior cranial fossae. The skull base
comprises parts of the frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid, occipital and temporal bones.
Skull (Cranium)
The human skull consists of 22 bones (or 29, including the inner ear bones and hyoid
bone) which are mostly connected together by ossified joints, so called sutures.
The skull is divided into the braincase (neurocranium) and the facial
skeleton (viscerocranium). Its main task is the protection of the most important organ in
the human body: the brain.
The brain is almost entirely enclosed by the neurocranium with the exception of the
foramen magnum and other foramina at the skull base which serve as entry and exit point
for blood vessels and cranial nerves. Also, the skull provides support for all of the facial
structures.
, Components and features
Sagittal suture (Sutura sagittalis)
The braincase consists of the skullcap (calvarium) and the skull base. The skull cap is
made up of the pairs of parietal bones and parts of the frontal bone as well as
the occipital bone. The most important sutures in the human skull are:
• the coronal suture (between the frontal and parietal bone)
• the sagittal suture (dividing both the parietal bones)
• the lambdoidal suture (running horizontally between the occipital bone and both parietal bones)
These are the three most significant of all 33 sutures which are formed by the human
skull bones.
The skull base is the inferior portion of the neurocranium. Looking at it from the inside it
can be subdivided into the anterior, middle and posterior cranial fossae. The skull base
comprises parts of the frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid, occipital and temporal bones.
