Osteology of the skull

Question 1

What is the axial skeleton

Answer 1

Bones that are along the body’s long axis

Question 2

What is the appendicular skeleton

Answer 2

Bones that form the upper and lower limbs and the shoulder and pelvic girdles

Question 3

Name the 3 parts that the skull is split into

Answer 3

Cranium, mandible, middle third of the face

Question 4

Name the 2 parts that the cranium is split into

Answer 4

The roof and the base

Question 5

What is the roof also known as

Answer 5

Calvarium

Question 6

What is the base also known as

Answer 6

Cranial base

Question 7

Name the 3 sections that the cranial base is split into

Answer 7

Anterior cranial fossa, middle cranial fossa, posterior cranial fossa

Question 8

What are sutures

Answer 8

Fibrous bands of tissue that connect the bones of the skull

Question 9

What is the large hole in the skull called

Answer 9

Foramen magnum

Question 10

Name the 2 divisions of the cranium

Answer 10

Neurocranium & viscerocranium

Question 11

How many bones are there in the neurocranium

Answer 11

8

Question 12

How many bones are there in the viscerocranium

Answer 12

14

Question 13

Name the bones of the neurocranium

Answer 13

Parietal (2)
Ethmoid 
Sphenoid 
Temporal (2)
Occipital 
Frontal

Question 14

What is it called when bones meet

Answer 14

Articulations

Question 15

What are the 4 main sutures of the skull

Answer 15

Sagittal, coronal, lambdoid and squamous

Question 16

What is a protuberance

Answer 16

Swelling/ knob like outgrowth

Question 17

What is a condyle

Answer 17

A rounded projection on a bone usually for articulation with another bone

Question 18

What cranial fossa does the frontal bone contribute to

Answer 18

Anterior cranial fossa

Question 19

What are the air filled cavities in the frontal bone called

Answer 19

Sinuses

Question 20

What is located behind the sphenoid bone

Answer 20

Sella turcica

Question 21

What does the sella turcica house

Answer 21

Pituitary gland - also known as pituitary fossa

Question 22

What is located either side of the sella turcica

Answer 22

Optic canals - carry optic nerves

Question 23

What are the plates called that are located either side of the midline

Answer 23

Medial and lateral pterygoid plates

Question 24

What is the nasion

Answer 24

Where the two nasal bones meet

Question 25

What does the zygomatic bones articulate with

Answer 25

Frontal bone, maxilla, temporal bone

Question 26

What are facial buttresses

Answer 26

Where bones are not of uniform thickness

Question 27

Purpose of facial buttresses

Answer 27

Some places are thicker to provide protection, they absorb stresses so that we can withstand mastication. It makes the skull lighter

Question 28

Name the bones that make up the hard palate

Answer 28

2 x bones of maxilla palatine process, 2 x palatine bones

Question 29

Where are pterygoid plates placed in relation to the TMJ

Answer 29

Laterally

Question 30

What is the glenoid fossa

Answer 30

Where the condyle of the mandible inserts into the temporal bone

Question 31

What is the glenoid eminence

Answer 31

Found in the temporal bone, dip next to the fossa