Skull terminology

Question 1

acanthion

Answer 1

a point at the base of the anterior nasal spine.

Question 2

blowout fracture

Answer 2

a break in the eye socket’s floor or inner wall

Question 3

cerebral concussion

Answer 3

a brain injury that occurs when the head is hit or jolted, causing the brain to move around in the skull

Question 4

contrecoup injury

Answer 4

a traumatic brain injury that occurs on the opposite side of the brain from the site of impact

Question 5

cranium

Answer 5

a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate

Question 6

external auditory (acoustic) meatus (EAM)

Answer 6

a tube that carries sound waves from the outside of the ear to the eardrum

Question 7

external occipital protuberance

Answer 7

bony bump on the back of the skull where the neck meets the head

Question 8

foramen magnum

Answer 8

a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull.

Question 9

glabella

Answer 9

the area of skin between the eyebrows and above the nose.

Question 10

gonion

Answer 10

located at the most lateral and lowest point of the angle of the mandible

Question 11

lacrimal bones

Answer 11

a pair of small, flat, and fragile facial bones that support the eye and are part of the tear production system

Question 12

mandible

Answer 12

the jaw or a jawbone

Question 13

maxilla

Answer 13

The bones that form the upper part of the jaw, the roof of the mouth, and parts of the eye socket and nose

Question 14

mental protuberance (point)

Answer 14

the triangular bony protrusion on the lower jaw that forms the chin

Question 15

multiple myeloma

Answer 15

a cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow

Question 16

nasal concha (pl. conchae)

Answer 16

curved, bony structures protruding from the lateral walls of the nasal cavity

Question 17

nasion

Answer 17

midline bony depression between the eyes where the frontal and two nasal bones meet, just below the glabella.

Question 18

orbits

Answer 18

the bony sockets that house the eyes and their associated structures

Question 19

palatine bones

Answer 19

a pair of L-shaped bones that form the back of the hard palate and part of the nasal cavity

Question 20

sella turcica

Answer 20

A depression of the bone at the base of the skull where the pituitary gland is located.

Question 21

sutures

Answer 21

fibrous bands of tissue that connect the skull’s bones

Question 22

vomer

Answer 22

a thin, unpaired bone of the face and skull (cranium).

Question 23

zygomas

Answer 23

a pair of bones that form the cheekbones and part of the eye sockets