OSTEOLOGY OF THE SKULL

Dr Mutauza
• The cranium (skull) - the skeleton of the
head.

• Has two parts;

 neurocranium – cranial vault
 viscerocranium – facial skeleton
• The neurocranium - eight bones:
• four singular bones centered on the midline
 frontal
 ethmoidal
 sphenoidal
 occipital)
• Viscerocranium - 15 irregular bones:
• three singular bones centered in the midline
- mandible, ethmoid, and vomer.
• 6 bones occurring as bilateral pairs - maxillae;
inferior nasal conchae; and zygomatic,
palatine, nasal and lacrimal bones.
M&M, Fig. 7.2
 A bit of embryology…..
• The developing skull has three component
origins:

 Chondrocranium (base of skull / braincase), mode

of fmn-endochondral, germ layer mesoderm.

 Dermatocranium (flat bones of skull), mode of

fmn-dermal, germ layer- neural crest.

 Splanchnocranium (bones derived from gill arch

elements); endochondral ; neural crest.
 Cranium……superior
• Broadens posterolaterally at the parietal
eminences
• Sutures - coronal, sagittal, lambdoid
Bregma
• intersection of the sagittal and coronal
sutures.
• The most superior point- the vertex, is near
the midpoint of the sagittal suture.
 anterior
Frontal bone
• Its squamous (flat) part forms the skeleton of
the forehead.
• Articulates inferiorly with the nasal , zygomatic
bones, lacrimal, ethmoidal and sphenoid bones.
• A horizontal portion forms the roof of the orbit
and part of the floor of the cranial cavity.
• Separated by ‘frontal suture’ in fetal skull which
fuses by 6-8yrs.
• Sometime may persist as metopic suture.
Zygomatic bones (zygoma/cheek/malar bone)
• Lie on inferolateral sides of the orbits and rest
on the maxillae.
• Articulate with temporal, sphenoid, frontal and
maxillae.
• Has zygomaticofacial foramen.

Maxillae
• Forms upper jaw
• Are united at the intermaxillary suture
• Their alveolar processes include the sockets
and offer support for maxillary teeth.
• Surround most of the piriform apertures
(anterior nasal apertures) and form the
infraorbital margins medially.
• Infraorbital foramen inferior to each orbit for
passage of the infraorbital nerve and vessels.
Mandible
• U-shaped bone with alveolar processes
housing the mandibular teeth.
• Has a horizontal part, the body, and a vertical
part,the ramus.
• Inferior to the second premolar teeth are the
mental foramina for the mental nerves and
vessels .
Bones of the Orbit
 Lateral……..
Main features include:
• Temporal fossa- bounded
 superiorly and posteriorly by the temporal lines
Anteriorly by frontal and zygomatic bones
Inferiorly by the zygomatic arch
• Opening of external acoustic meatus
• Mastoid region
• Infratemporal fossa
• Zygomatic arch
• Lateral aspects of the maxilla and mandible.
 Pterion - H-shaped junction of sutures that
unite the frontal, sphenoid, parietal and
temporal bones.
 Located in the anterior part of the temporal
fossa 3-4cm superior to the midpoint of the
zygomatic arch and a thumb’s breadth
posterior to the frontal process of the
zygomatic bone.
• It overlies the anterior branches of the middle
meningeal vessels
 Posterior……………
• The occiput is typically round or ovoid in
outline
• Formed by occipital, parietal and mastoid
parts of temporal bones.
• Palpate for the external occipital protuberance
(inion) in median plane
• The occipital bone has a large opening at its
base- foramen magnum
• Superior limit of the neck is marked by
superior nuchal line, below it is the inferior
nuchal line.
• Junction of sagittal and lambdoid sutures is
marked by lambda .
inferior
Internal….
Clinical correlates
• Skull fractures and brain injury
• Maxillae fractures Le Fort I, II, III
• Mandibular fractures and the TMJ
• Bone flaps and burrholes
• Etimation of age
• Identification
• Craniosynostosis
• Cranial buttresses