1. Human Anatomy & Physiology
Skull
Human Anatomy & Physiology
“Skeletal System”
Dr. Steve W. Altstiel
Naples High School

2. A. Skull
The skull has 22 bones (some doubled), so 14 different named bones.
Cranium – part that holds and protects the brain… composed of 8 bones held together by sutures.
Sutures
Coronal
Sagittal
Lambdoidal
Squamous

3. Skull
Fontanels – incomplete sutures in infants – allow bones to slide during birth – allow for growth of the brain.
Sinuses – air-filled cavities – function to lighten bones – open into the nasal cavity.
Foramina – “canals” – holes in the skull to allow passage of nerves, vessels, and spinal cord.
Bones – 8 – (actually six named)

4. Skull (8 Bones)
Frontal bone – found on forehead and the roof of the orbits (eye sockets).
Parietal bones – 2 – make up top and upper sides of the skull.
Occipital bone – 1 – makes up a large part of the back and bottom of the skull.
Foramen magnum – “Big hole” – spinal cord attached to the brain and arteries pass through this hole.
Occipital condyles – articulates with the first vertebra.

6. Skull (8 Bones) Temporal bones – 2 – on sides of the skull.
Ear – external auditory canal, middle and inner ear.
Mandibular fossa - <--> (articulates with) mandible.
Mastoid process – muscle attachment – contains sinuses.
Styloid process – attachment for bone and muscle.
Zygomatic process - <--> zygomatic bone & chewing muscle.
Carotid canal – internal carotid artery passage.
Jugular foramen – interior jugular and cranial nerve passage.

7. Skull
Sphenoid bone - <--> all the other cranial bones. Looks like a bat.
Optical canal – optic nerve passage for attachment to brain.
Superior orbital fissure – passage for cranial nerves and nerves that move the eyeball.
Sella turcica – place that holds the pituitary gland.
Ethmoid bone – hard to see. Located in front of the sphenoid bone. Largely involved with the nasal cavity and orbit.
Cribiform plate – “sieve-like” – passage for olfactory nerves allowing you to smell.
Perpendicular plate – forms the upper nasal septum.
Superior and middle nasal conchae – shelves found in nasal cavity on either side of the perpendicular plate.

8. Skull
Facial bones – 14 – only eight are named – 13 are immovable, and 1 is moveable. Overlap of cranial and facial bones make up the orbit and nasal cavity
Maxillary bones (maxillae) – upper jaw and also lower part of the orbit.
Palatine process (anterior hard palate) – makes up the anterior hard palate and separates the nasal cavity from the mouth.
Alveolar process – holds upper teeth in its sockets.
Palatine bones – make up posterior hard palate.
Zygomatic bones - cheek bones.
Temporal process (of the zygomatic bone) <--> zygomatic process (of the temporal bone).
Forms the Zygomatic Arch.

9. Skull
Lacrimal bones – part of the orbit – contains the tear duct.
Nasal bone – 2 – forms the bridge of the nose.
Vomer – makes up part of the nasal septum (lower).
Inferior nasal conchae – 2 – part of the lateral nasal wall.
Mandible – only moveable bone – make up the lower jaw.
Body
Ramus – extension upward.
Mandibular condyle - <--> the mandibular fossa of the temporal bone – forms the temporal mandibular joint.
Coronoid process – muscle attachment.
Alveolar arch – sockets for lower teeth.
Hyoid – U-shaped bone – does not <--> the rest of the skeleton – attachment for tongue and larynx.