Skull

Dr. seba rifat abdullah

college dentistery of al kitab university
first lecture part 2
Skull
 composed of 22 bones, 8 of these bones form
the cranium ( which contains the brain and
meninges), and 14 of these form the face .The
vault is the upper part of the cranium, and the
base of the skull is the lowest part of the
cranium.
• united at immobile joints called sutures The
connective tissue between the bones is called
a sutural ligament
• mandible is an exception to this rule, united
to the skull by the mobile
temporomandibular joint
1- Cranium consists of
• Frontal bone: 1
• Parietal bones: 2
• Occipital bone: 1
• Temporal bones: 2
• Sphenoid bone: 1
• Ethmoid bone: 1
2- Facial bones consist of
• Zygomatic bones: 2
• Maxillae: 2
• Nasal bones: 2
• Lacrimal bones: 2
• Vomer: 1
• Palatine bones: 2
• Inferior conchae: 2
• Mandible: 1
Cranium
FRONTAL BONE
• Contains the frontal
paranasal sinuses.
Helps form the foramen
cecum,
1- Squamous portion
• The largest part of the
frontal bone
• Forms the majority of
the forehead
• Forms the supraorbital margin
• The zygomatic process of the
frontal bone extends from the
posterior part of the supraorbital
margin.
2-Orbital portion
• Forms the roof of the orbit
and floor of the anterior
cranial fossa.

3-Nasal portion
• Articulates with the nasal
bones and the frontal
process of the maxilla to form
the root of the nose.
• Coronal suture separates
it from the parietal bone
• Sphenofrontal
suture separates it from
the sphenoid bone
• Zygomaticofrontal
suture separates it from
the zygomatic bone
• Nasofrontal
suture separates it from
the nasal bone
• Frontomaxillary
suture separates it from
the maxilla
PARIETAL BONE
• Forms the majority of the
cranial vault
• The four corners of the parietal are
not ossified at birth and give rise
to the fontanelles.
• There are 2 parietal bones.
• Relatively square, forming the
roof and sides of the cranial vault.
• Endocranial surface is filled with
grooves made by branches of
the middle meningeal artery.
• The two parietal bones meet each other in the midline of
the skull roof forming a serrated margin known as
the sagittal suture. Apart from its opposite counterpart,
each parietal bone is surrounded by four other bones:
• anteriorly it borders with the frontal bone (→coronal
suture)
• posteriorly with the occipital bone (→ lambdoid suture)
• laterally it comes in contact with the temporal
bone (→squamous suture) and sphenoid
bone (→ sphenoparietal suture)
• Has 4 angles
• Frontal— located at
bregma.
• Sphenoid— located at
pterion.
• Occipital— located at
lambda.
• Mastoid— located at
asterion.
OCCIPITAL BONE
• Forms the posterior part
of the cranial vault.
• Articulates with the atlas.
• There is 1 occipital bone.
1- Squamous portion
• Articulates with the temporal
and parietal bones.
• The largest portion of
the occipital bone.
• Located posterior and superior
to the foramen magnum.
• Has the external occipital
protuberance (more pronounced
in males).
• Has the superior and the
inferior nuchal lines.
• Has grooves on the internal
surface for 3 of the sinuses
forming the confluence of the
sinuses (the superior sagittal
and the right and left transverse
sinuses)
• The depression superior to
the transverse sinus is for the
occipital lobes of the brain
• The depression inferior to
the transverse sinus is for
the cerebellum
2- Lateral portion
• Articulates with the
temporal bone
• It is the portion lateral to
the foramen magnum.
• Has the occipital condyles
that articulate with the
atlas.
• Contains the
hypoglossal canal
• Forms a portion of the
jugular foramen.
3- Basilar portion
• Articulates with the petrous part
of the temporal and the
sphenoid bones.
• It is the portion immediately
anterior to the foramen
magnum.
• Pharyngeal tubercle is part of
the basilar portion that provides
attachment for the superior
constrictor muscle.
• Internal surface of the basilar
portion is called the clivus, and
part of the brainstem lies
against it.
TEMPORAL BONE
• Help form the base and the
lateral walls of the skull
• House the auditory and
vestibular apparatuses
• Contain mastoid air cells
• There are 2 temporal
bones
1- Squamous part:
• The largest portion of the bone.
• Three portions to the squamous part:
Temporal
• Temporal portion is the thin large area on
the squamous part of the temporal.
• On the internal surface of the temporal portion lies a
groove for the middle meningeal artery.
Zygomatic process
• The zygomatic process extends laterally and
anteriorly from the squamous portion; it articulates
with the temporal process of the zygomatic bone to
make the zygomatic arch.
Glenoid fossa
• Glenoid fossa is inferior and medial to the zygomatic
process; it articulates with the mandibular condyle,
forming the temporomandibular joint
2- Petrous part:
• Forms the solid portion of bone.
• The auditory and vestibular
apparatuses are located within
the petrous part
• Helps separate the temporal and
the occipital lobes of the brain.
• It extends anteriorly and medially.
• The medial part articulates with the
sphenoid bone to form the
foramen lacerum
• Internal acoustic meatus is
observed on the medial side of
the petrous part.
• Carotid canal lies on the
inferior part of the petrous
part.
• Petrotympanic fissure
lies between the petrous
part of the temporal bone
and the tympanic part of
the temporal bone.
• On the posterior
inferior surface of the
petrous part lies the
jugular fossa.
• 3-mastoid part :
• extends posteriorly and
has large mastoid air cells.
• superior serrated edge for
the articulation with the
mastoid angle of the
parietal bone
• posterior also serrated
for articulation with the
inferior border of the
occipital bone,
• anterior fused with the
squamous part.
4-Tympanic part:
• A plate of bone forming
the anterior,posterior,
and inferior portions of
the external acoustic
meatus.
• Anterior part forms the
posterior portion of the
glenoid fossa
• 4-Styloid process:
• A projection from the
temporal bone.
• The stylomastoid
foramen lies posterior
to this process.
SPHENOID BONE
• Forms the majority of
the middle portion of
the cranial base.
• Forms the majority of
the middle cranial
fossa.
• Contains the sphenoid
paranasal sinus.
• There is 1 sphenoid
bone.
1- Body:
• The center of the sphenoid
• Superior part of the body, known
as the sella turcica, is saddle-
shaped and possesses the anterior
and posterior clinoid processes.
• Hypophyseal fossa, the deepest
part of the sella turcica, houses the
pituitary gland.
• Dorsum sellae is a square-shaped
part of the bone that lies posterior
to the sella turcica.
• Clivus is the portion that
slopes posterior to the body.
• Body contains the
sphenoid paranasal
sinuses.
• Optic canal is found in the body
of the sphenoid.
clivus
2- Greater wing:
• Extends laterally and anteriorly from
the posterior portion of the body of the
sphenoid.
• Endocranial portion helps form a
large part of the middle cranial fossa.
• Lateral portion is the infra
temporal surface.
• Anterior portion lies in the orbit.
• Contains 3 foramina:
• Foramen spinosum.
• Foramen rotundum.
• Foramen ovale.
3- Lesser wing:
• Extends laterally and
anteriorly from the
superior portion of the
sphenoid body.
• Separated from the
greater wing by the
superior orbital
fissure.
4- Pterygoid process:
• Arises from the inferior surface
of the body.
• There are 2 pterygoid processes
each has a:
Lateral pterygoid plate
Medial pterygoid plate
• Pterygoid hamulus extends
from the medial pterygoid plate.
• Two canals are associated with
the pterygoid process:
Pterygoid canal
Pharyngeal canal (palatovaginal
canal)
ETHMOID BONE
• A porous bone that
forms the major portion
of the middle part of the
face between the
orbits.
• Helps form the orbit,
nasal cavity, nasal
septum, and anterior
cranial fossa.
• There is 1 ethmoid
bone
• Parts:
1-Perpendicular plate
• A flat plate that
descends from the
cribriform plate to form
part of the nasal
septum.
• Articulates with the
vomer inferiorly.
2-Cribriform plate
• A horizontal bone that forms
the superior surface of the
ethmoid and it contains
numerous foramina for the
olfactory nerve.
• Crista galli is a vertical plate
that extends superiorly from
the cribriform plate.
• Associated with a small
foramen cecum, anterior and
posterior ethmoidal foramina
3- Ethmoid labyrinth
• The largest part of the
ethmoid bone.
• Descends inferiorly from
the cribriform plate.
• Ethmoid paranasal sinuses are
located within the ethmoid
labyrinth.
• Ethmoid labyrinth forms 2 major
structures within the nasal
cavity:
1- Superior nasal concha.
2- Middle nasal concha.
• Ethmoid bulla is the large
elevation of bone located by the
middle ethmoid paranasal sinuses.
• Uncinate process is a curved
piece of bone.
• Between the uncinate process
and the ethmoid bulla is the hiatus
semilunaris.