skull
Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.The skull (cranium) is the seat of our brain and the main sensory organs (hearing, balance, sight, smell and taste). It is composed of 22 skull bones - 15 facial bones for the facial skull and seven bones for the brain skull. The food and airways begin on the skull with the mouth and nose.Read everything important about the skull: anatomy, function as well as important diseases and injuries!
What is the skull
The skull (cranium) forms the bony basis of the head and the top of the body. It is made up of various individual bones and fulfills several tasks. Hence, its anatomy is also quite complicated. The skull is roughly divided into a brain skull and a facial skull.
Brain skull (neurocranium)
The brain skull includes:
- the frontal bone (os frontale)
- the sphenoid bone (sphenoid bone)
- the paired temporal bone (os temporale) with the ossicles
- the pair of parietal bones (os parietale)
- the occiput (os occipitale)
The skull seams form the articulated connection between the individual skull bones. In small children they are even more flexible than in adults - the cranial bones in newborns must be able to move so that the child's head can fit through the birth canal.
At birth, the child's skull also has several small, membranous openings between the adjacent skull bones, the so-called fontanelles. The largest is on top of the newborn's head between the parietal bones and the frontal bones. In the course of the first few months of life, the fontanelles close - they ossify.
Skullcap
The upper part of the skull is called the roof of the skull or skullcap. It is formed by the frontal, parietal and occipital bones.
Skull base
The lower part of the skull is called the base of the skull. You can read more about this part of the skull in the post Skull Base.
Sphenoid bone
The sphenoid bone is involved in building the base of the skull - a bone shaped like a bat with its wings open. You can read more about this in the article Sphenoid Bone.
Frontal bone
The arched bone edge above the eyes, where the eyebrows sit on the skull, belongs to the frontal bone (os frontale).
The connective tissue bone seam between the frontal bone and the two parietal bones is called the crown seam. It runs roughly where a headband is worn.
Temporal bone
The temporal bone belongs to the temporal bone and houses the inner ear. You can read more about this in the article Temporal Bone.
The occiput, which forms the lower area of the back of the head, is connected to the first cervical vertebra (atlas) via a joint.
Facial skull (viscerocranium)
The facial skull includes:
- the ethmoid bone (ethmoid bone)
- the paired nasal bone (os nasale)
- the paired tear bone (os lacrimale)
- the paired lower turbinate (Concha nasalis inferior)
- the ploughshare (vomer)
- the paired zygomatic bone (Os zygomaticum)
- the paired palatine bone (os palatinum)
- the upper jaw (maxilla)
- the lower jaw (mandible)
The ethmoid bone is the most fragile bone in the skull. It represents the border to the cerebral cavity. Its middle part forms the upper part of the nasal septum, its lateral parts are chambered. These chambers, called ethmoid cells, belong to the paranasal sinuses and border the eye socket with a wafer-thin wall. The upper ethmoid bone cells are closed by the frontal bone, the lower ones by the upper jaw and the lacrimal bone. The number, size and extent of the ethmoid cells vary greatly from person to person.
The connection between the sphenoid bone and the ethmoid bone in the area of the skull base represents the transition from the cerebral to the facial skull.
Eye socket
The eyeball lies protectively embedded in the eye socket. You can find out more about this in the article Eye socket.
Nasal bone
A punch in the face quickly breaks the nasal bone. You can read more about these paired facial bones in the article nasal bone.
Lacrimal bone
The two delicate tear bones that lie on the sides behind the nasal bones are the smallest facial bones. They are reminiscent of a fingernail in shape and size. Each tear bone forms a so-called tear pit together with one of the two upper jaw bones. The tear fluid is collected in the tear sac housed here and drains through the nasal cavity when we cry.
Zygomatic bone
The cheekbone is also called the cheekbones or cheekbones. You can find out more about these paired facial bones in the article cheekbones.
Lower jaw
The lower jaw is the largest and strongest facial bone and - apart from the auditory ossicles - the only freely movable bone in the skull. You can read more about this in the article Lower jaw.
upper jaw
The upper jaw carries the upper row of teeth and forms most of the hard palate. You can read more about the maxilla in the article Upper jaw.
Temporomandibular joint
The upper and lower jaw are not directly connected to one another via a joint. Rather, the lower jaw hangs on the two temporal bones. The extremely articulated link between them are the temporomandibular joints. You can read more about them in the article TMJ.
What is the function of the skull?
The skull acts as a protective cover for the brain and the sensory organs of hearing, balance, sight, smell and taste. It also serves as a starting point for various muscles that we use, for example, to nod our head, frown, smile, speak or chew.
In addition, the digestive and respiratory tracts begin on the skull with the mouth and nose.
Due to the spherical shape of the skull, not only the brain skull lies above the facial skull (in contrast to animals, where it lies behind the facial skull). This shape is also beneficial for the balance of the head on the cervical spine when walking upright.
Where is the skull located?
The skull sits at the top of the cervical spine, where it is balanced in an unstable equilibrium. The connection is the first cervical vertebra, the atlas, with which the skull is articulated via the occiput (os occipitale).
What problems can the skull cause?
If boxers get a punch on the edge of the frontal bone above the eyebrows, the skin is crushed and tissue fluid and blood collect in the surrounding connective tissue - a swollen "black eye" is the result.
The temporomandibular joints are often to blame for headache or back pain, tinnitus or other complaints. Badly fitted tooth fillings or crowns, teeth grinding, stress or a crooked posture permanently damage the jaw joints. The jaw muscles cramp, which can send painful signals to different parts of the body.
At the time of birth, the two maxillary bones are usually already firmly fused together. If this is not the case, the child is born with a cleft palate or cleft lip and palate. Without an operation, those affected usually have problems speaking and swallowing.
If too much pressure is exerted on the child's head during birth, an impression of the skullcap can occur - the child's head becomes deformed.
There are various malformations of the skull, such as anencephaly (skull not closed) or microcephaly (skull that is too small).
Premature bony closure of the coronary suture results in a deformed brain skull.
Various benign and malignant tumors as well as metastases (daughter tumors of malignant tumors) can grow in the area of the skull.
Skull base fractures and skull fractures are fractures of the skull bone either at the base or anywhere in the area of the skull.
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