3. The Skull
Joints
Bones
Foramina
skull, skeletal framework of
the head of vertebrates, composed
of bones or cartilage, which form a unit that
protects the brain and some sense organs.
The upper jaw, but not the lower, is part of the
skull. The human cranium, the part that contains
the brain, is globular and relatively large in
comparison with the face. In most
other animals the facial portion of the skull,
including the upper teeth and the nose, is larger
than the cranium. In humans the skull is
supported by the highest vertebra, called the atlas,
permitting nodding motion. The atlas turns on the
next-lower vertebra, the axis,
29. The Skull
anterior cranial
fossa
posterior cranial
fossa
middle cranial
fossa
The floor of the cranial
cavity is divided into three
distinct depressions. They are
known as the anterior cranial
fossa, middle cranial
fossa and posterior cranial
fossa. Each fossa
accommodates a different part
of the brain.
The anterior cranial fossa is
the most shallow and superior
of the three cranial fossae. It
lies superiorly over
the nasal and orbital cavities.
The fossa accommodates the
anteroinferior portions of
the frontal lobes of the brain.
45. Joints in the
skull
Joints in the skull
temporomandibularjoint
specialised joints – sutures
only occur in the skull
in adult – very little movement
in children – more mobile