Week 7a Skull, Head and TMJ I Flashcards
Basic features of the head (5 items)
◦ skull
◦ brain and special sensory organs
◦ face
◦ has one mobile joint- the TMJ
◦ is important for eating, communication, hearing, smelling and seeing.
Basic features of the neck (2 items)
◦ allows movement of the head
◦ contains passageways for the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems
Basic features of skull (3 items)
- Houses & protects the brain (like a helmet)
- Provides attachment for head and neck muscles
- Houses the special sense organ for hearing
Basic features of the facial skeleton (8 items)
- Framework for the face
- Houses the special organs for smell, taste & vision
- Opening for respiratory and digestive systems
- Contains the teeth
- Anchors the facial expression muscles
- Jaw joint
- Oral cavity that allows us to prepare food particles for swallowing
- Oral cavity that contains articulators for making various speech sounds
How do we show facial expression?
By voluntarily moving the muscles of the face
How are skull bone stuck together
• Fibrous joints (also called sutures)
- Sagittal suture
- Coronal suture
- Lambdoid suture
- Pterion
Distinguishing features of the infant skull (8 points)
- Thin soft bones
- Fontanelles – means that bones can be squeezed together (to an extent) to aid in delivery
- No teeth
- Larger cranial size
- Small facial size
- Large orbits for eyes
- Skull to facial bone ratio much greater in infants and gradually changes over the lifespan with facial bones gradually elongating.
- Also alters a lot of cavities and spaces within the facial area. Eg estuation tube – drainage happens more easily for adults due to small facial bone of children. Estuation tube is horizonal and if drainage doesn’t occur property, this can lead to ear infections being more common in children
Distinguishing features of the child skull (7 points)
• Fontanelles starting to disappear – sutures start being formed (head still delicate)
- Large cranial skeleton
- Small facial bones
- Large orbits
- Fused bones
- Infant teeth with adult teeth developing
- Small if any paranasal sinus development
Distinguishing features of an adult skull (5 points)
- Larger facial skeleton and facial bones
- Longer face
- Adult teeth
- Possibly tooth gaps or decay
- Para nasal sinuses (various sizes)
Distinguishing features of an elderly skull (3 points)
- Smaller mandible and generally smaller facial bones
- Loss of teeth
- Thinner bones
What is the purpose of the anatomical spaces in the skull?
What are the spaces?
Anatomical spaces contain (hold) structures and allow for communication between regions
Large spaces:
- Cranial cavity contains the brain & brainstem
- Tiered internal space (cranial fossae)
- Oral cavity contains the teeth & tongue etc.
What are paranasal sinuses and what is their function?
• Air-filled extensions of the nasal cavity lined by mucus membrane
Functions:
- lighten weight of the head
- immune defense of the nasal region
- humidifying inspired air
- increasing resonance of the voice
What type of joint is the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ)?
- modified synovial hinge joint
What type of joint is the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ)?
- modified synovial hinge joint
What are the articulating surfaces of the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ)?
- mandibular fossa of the temporal bone & the condyle of the mandible with an articular disc
What regions of the face do these branches of the trigeminal nerve innervate?
V1 Opthalmic branch - It provides sensory innervation to the skin, mucous membranes and sinuses of the upper face and scalp.
V2 Maxillary branch - hard palate & upper lip
V3 Mandibular branch - anterior tongue (general sense) & lower lip
