Cranium or Skull

Question 1

The Skull

Answer 1

The skull, composed of 22 bones, consists of the cranial bones (cranium) and the facial bones (face).

Question 2

Cranium

Answer 2

The skull forms the large cranial cavity and smaller cavities, including the nasal cavity and orbits (eye sockets).
The only moveable bone of the skull, other than the ear ossicles within the temporal bones, is the mandible.
Immovable joints called sutures hold the skull bones together.

Question 3

Frontal Bone

Answer 3

The frontal bone forms the forehead and the roofs of the orbits (eye sockets). A “black eye” results from accumulation of fluid and blood in the upper eyelid following a blow to the relatively sharp supra-orbital margin (brow line).

Question 4

Parietal Bones

Answer 4

The parietal bones form the greater portion of the sides and roof of the cranial cavity. The skull has two of them.

Question 5

Temporal Bones

Answer 5

The temporal bones form the inferior lateral aspects of the cranium and part of the cranial floor.

Question 6

Occipital Bones

Answer 6

The occipital bone forms the posterior part and most of the base of the cranium. The sub-occipital region is the location where the upper trapezius and back of the neck muscles attach