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Anatomy & Physiology: Skull Bones and Cranial Features

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Terms in this set (19)

  • How many bones make up the human skeleton and what percentage of body weight do they represent?
    The human skeleton has 206 bones which make up about 20% of body weight.
  • What are the two main groups of the human skeleton?
    Axial skeleton (skull, vertebral column, rib cage) and appendicular skeleton (upper & lower limbs, pectoral & pelvic girdles).
  • How many bones are in the axial skeleton and what does it include?
    The axial skeleton has 80 bones including the skull, vertebral column, and rib cage.
  • What are the two sets of bones in the skull?
    The skull consists of cranial bones and facial bones, totaling 22 bones.
  • What is the function of the cranial bones?
    Cranial bones form the vault and base of the skull, surrounding and protecting the brain and organs of hearing and balance.
  • Name the 8 cranial bones.
    Paired: parietal and temporal bones; Unpaired: frontal, occipital, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones.
  • What are the three cranial fossae and their relative positions?
    The cranial base is divided into the anterior (highest), middle, and posterior (lowest) cranial fossae.
  • What is the foramen magnum and where is it located?
    The foramen magnum is a large hole in the occipital bone at the base of the skull, allowing passage of the spinal cord.
  • What is the significance of the occipital condyles?
    Occipital condyles articulate with the first cervical vertebra, enabling head movement.
  • What are the three parts of the temporal bone?
    The temporal bone has the squamous, tympanic, and petrous parts.
  • What important structures are associated with the tympanic part of the temporal bone?
    The tympanic part surrounds the external acoustic meatus and includes the styloid process and important foramina like the jugular foramen and carotid canal.
  • What is the sphenoid bone and its key features?
    The sphenoid is a complex bone articulating with all cranial bones, forming part of the cranial base with greater and lesser wings, pterygoid processes, and optic canals.
  • What is the function of the ethmoid bone?
    The ethmoid bone forms part of the nasal cavity roof, nasal septum, medial orbital walls, and contains olfactory foramina for smell nerves.
  • What are the major cranial sutures?
    The four main sutures are coronal, squamous, lambdoid, and sagittal sutures.
  • How many facial bones are there and which are unpaired?
    There are 14 facial bones; mandible and vomer are unpaired.
  • What is the mandible and its key features?
    The mandible is the lower jawbone, strongest facial bone, with body, rami, mandibular notch, coronoid process, condyle, alveolar margin, and mental foramina.
  • What bones form the hard palate?
    The hard palate is formed anteriorly by the palatine processes of maxillae and posteriorly by the horizontal plates of palatine bones.
  • What are paranasal sinuses and their functions?
    Paranasal sinuses (frontal, maxillary, sphenoid, ethmoid) are mucosa-lined air-filled spaces that lighten the skull and enhance voice resonance.
  • What is unique about the hyoid bone?
    The hyoid bone does not articulate with any other bone and supports the tongue and muscles for swallowing and speech.