Bones

• Ethmoid bone
  Ethmoid bone
  The ethmoid bone is a bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. As such, it is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits. The cubical bone is lightweight due to a spongy construction. The ethmoid bone is one of the bones that makes up the orbit of the eye...
  
  
• Sphenoid bone
  Sphenoid bone
  The sphenoid bone is an unpaired bone situated at the base of the skull in front of the temporal bone and basilar part of the occipital bone.The sphenoid bone is one of the seven bones that articulate to form the orbit...
  
  
• Occipital bone
  Occipital bone
  The occipital bone, a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the cranium, is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself...
  
  
• Frontal bone
  Frontal bone
  The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull that resembles a cockleshell in form, and consists of two portions:* a vertical portion, the squama frontalis, corresponding with the region of the forehead....
  
  
• Parietal bone
  Parietal bone
  The parietal bones are bones in the human skull which, when joined together, form the sides and roof of the cranium. Each bone is roughly quadrilateral in form, and has two surfaces, four borders, and four angles. It is named from the Latin pariet-, wall....
  
  
• Temporal bone
  Temporal bone
  The temporal bones are situated at the sides and base of the skull, and lateral to the temporal lobes of the cerebrum.The temporal bone supports that part of the face known as the temple.-Parts:The temporal bone consists of four parts:* Squama temporalis...
  
  
  • Petrous portion of the temporal bone
    Petrous portion of the temporal bone
    The petrous portion of the temporal bone or pyramid is pyramidal and is wedged in at the base of the skull between the sphenoid and occipital bones. Directed medially, forward, and a little upward, it presents for examination a base, an apex, three surfaces, and three angles, and contains, in its...
    
    

Foramina of the skull

• Foramen cecum
  Foramen cecum (frontal bone)
  The frontal crest of the frontal bone ends below in a small notch which is converted into a foramen, the foramen cecum , by articulation with the ethmoid....
  
  
• Optic foramen
  Optic foramen
  The optic foramen is the opening to the optic canal.The superior surface of the sphenoid bone is bounded behind by a ridge, which forms the anterior border of a narrow, transverse groove, the chiasmatic groove , above and behind which lies the optic chiasma; the groove ends on either side in the...
  
  
• Foramen lacerum
  Foramen lacerum
  The foramen lacerum is a triangular hole in the base of the skull located at the base of the medial pterygoid plate.-Transit through the foramen lacerum:...
  
  
• Foramen rotundum
  Foramen rotundum
  The foramen rotundum is a circular hole in the sphenoid bone that connects the middle cranial fossa and the pterygopalatine fossa.-Structure:...
  
  
• Foramen magnum
• Foramen ovale
  Foramen ovale (skull)
  At the base of the skull the foramen ovale is one of the larger of the several holes that transmit nerves through the skull. The foramen ovale is situated in the posterior part of the sphenoid bone, posterolateral to the foramen rotundum.-Contents:Several nerves, arteries and veins pass through...
  
  
• Jugular foramen
  Jugular foramen
  The jugular foramen is a large aperture in the base of the skull. It is located behind the carotid canal and is formed in front by the petrous portion of the temporal, and behind by the occipital; it is generally larger on the right than on the left side....
  
  
• Internal auditory meatus
  Internal auditory meatus
  The internal auditory meatus is a canal in the petrous part of the temporal bone of the skull that carries nerves from inside the cranium towards the middle and inner ear compartments namely cranial nerve VII and cranial nerve VIII.-Structure:The...
  
  
• Mastoid foramen
  Mastoid foramen
  The mastoid foramen is a large hole in the posterior border of the temporal bone. It transmits a Mastoid emissary vein to the sigmoid sinus and a small branch of the occipital artery, the posterior meningeal artery to the dura mater.-Variations:...
  
  
• Sphenoidal emissary foramen
  Sphenoidal emissary foramen
  In the base of the skull, in the great wings of the sphenoid bone, medial to the foramen ovale, a small aperture, the sphenoidal emissary foramen, may occasionally be seen opposite the root of the pterygoid process. When present, it opens below near the scaphoid fossa...
  
  
• Foramen spinosum
  Foramen spinosum
  The foramen spinosum is one of several foramina located in the base of the skull, on the sphenoid bone, situated lateral to the foramen ovale, in a posterior angle.-Contents:It permits the passage of certain arteries, veins and/or other structures:...
  
  

Sutures

• Frontoethmoidal suture
  Frontoethmoidal suture
  The frontoethmoidal suture is the suture between the ethmoid bone and the frontal bone.It is located in the anterior cranial fossa....
  
  
• Sphenofrontal suture
  Sphenofrontal suture
  The Sphenofrontal suture is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone....
  
  
• Sphenopetrosal suture
  Sphenopetrosal suture
  The sphenopetrosal fissure is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the petrous portion of the temporal bone.It is in the middle cranial fossa....
  
  
• Sphenoethmoidal suture
  Sphenoethmoidal suture
  The Sphenoethmoidal suture is the cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the ethmoid bone....
  
  
• Petrosquamous suture
  Petrosquamous suture
  The petrosquamous suture is a cranial suture between the petrous portion and the squama of the temporal bone.-External links:*...
  
  
• Sphenosquamosal suture
  Sphenosquamosal suture
  The Sphenosquamosal suture is a cranial suture between the sphenoid bone and the squama of the temporal bone....
  
  

Other

• Sphenoidal lingula
• Subarcuate fossa
  Subarcuate fossa
  In the temporal bone, above and between the aquæductus vestibuli is an irregular depression which lodges a process of the dura mater and transmits a small vein and the subarcuate artery a branch of the internal auditory artery, which is an end artery that supplies blood to the inner ear ; in the...
  
  
• Dorsum sellae
  Dorsum sellae
  In the sphenoid bone, the anterior boundary of the sella turcica is completed by two small eminences, one on either side, called the middle clinoid processes, while the posterior boundary is formed by a square-shaped plate of bone, the dorsum sellæ, ending at its superior angles in two tubercles,...
  
  
• Jugular process
  Jugular process
  In the lateral part of the occipital bone, extending lateralward from the posterior half of the condyle is a quadrilateral plate of bone, the jugular process, excavated in front by the jugular notch, which, in the articulated skull, forms the posterior part of the jugular foramen.It serves as the...
  
  
• Petro-occipital fissure
  Petro-occipital fissure
  This grooved surface of the foramen magnum is separated on either side from the petrous portion of the temporal bone by the petro-occipital fissure, which is occupied in the fresh state by a plate of cartilage; the fissure is continuous behind with the jugular foramen, and its margins are grooved...
  
  
• Condylar canal
• Jugular tubercle
  Jugular tubercle
  The upper surface of the lateral parts of occipital bone presents an oval eminence, the jugular tubercle, which overlies the hypoglossal canal and is sometimes crossed by an oblique groove for the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves.-External links:...
  
  
• Tuberculum sellae
  Tuberculum sellae
  In the sphenoid bone, behind the chiasmatic groove is an elevation, the tuberculum sellæ .-External links:*...
  
  
• Carotid groove
  Carotid groove
  Above the attachment of each great wing of the sphenoid bone is a broad groove, curved something like the italic letter f; it lodges the internal carotid artery and the cavernous sinus, and is named the carotid groove....
  
  
• Fossa hypophyseos
  Fossa hypophyseos
  In the sphenoid bone, behind the chiasmatic groove is an elevation, the tuberculum sellae; and still more posteriorly, a deep depression, the sella turcica, the deepest part of which lodges the hypophysis cerebri and is known as the fossa hypophyseos .-External links:* - "Cranial Fossae:...
  
  
• Posterior clinoid processes
  Posterior clinoid processes
  In the sphenoid bone, the anterior boundary of the sella turcica is completed by two small eminences, one on either side, called the anterior clinoid processes, while the posterior boundary is formed by a square-shaped plate of bone, the dorsum sellæ, ending at its superior angles in two tubercles,...
  
  
• Sigmoid sulcus
  Sigmoid sulcus
  The inner surface of the mastoid portion of the temporal bone presents a deep, curved groove, the sigmoid sulcus, which lodges part of the transverse sinus; in it may be seen the opening of the mastoid foramen....
  
  
• Internal occipital protuberance
  Internal occipital protuberance
  Along the internal surface of the occipital bone, at the point of intersection of the four divisions of the cruciate eminence is the internal occipital protuberance. Running transversely on either side is a groove for the transverse sinus.-External links:*...
  
  
• Internal occipital crest
  Internal occipital crest
  In the occipital bone, the lower division of the cruciate eminence is prominent, and is named the internal occipital crest; it bifurcates near the foramen magnum and gives attachment to the falx cerebelli; in the attached margin of this falx is the occipital sinus, which is sometimes duplicated.In...
  
  
• Ethmoidal spine
  Ethmoidal spine
  The superior surface of the body of the sphenoid bone presents in front a prominent spine, the ethmoidal spine, for articulation with the cribriform plate of the ethmoid; behind this is a smooth surface slightly raised in the middle line, and grooved on either side for the olfactory lobes of the...
  
  
• Vestibular aqueduct
  Vestibular aqueduct
  At the hinder part of the medial wall of the vestibule is the orifice of the vestibular aqueduct, which extends to the posterior surface of the petrous portion of the temporal bone....
  
  
• Chiasmatic groove
  Chiasmatic groove
  The superior surface of the body of the sphenoid bone is bounded behind by a ridge, which forms the anterior border of a narrow, transverse groove, the chiasmatic groove , above and behind which lies the optic chiasma of cranial nerve 2 .The groove ends on either side in the optic foramen, which...
  
  
• Middle clinoid process
  Middle clinoid process
  The anterior boundary of the sella turcica is completed by two small eminences, one on either side, called the middle clinoid processes.-Etymology:...
  
  
• Groove for sigmoid sinus
  Groove for sigmoid sinus
  Groove for Sigmoid Sinus is a groove in the posterior cranial fossa.-External links:* http://ect.downstate.edu/courseware/haonline/labs/l22/os0808.htm...
  
  
• Trigeminal ganglion
  Trigeminal ganglion
  The trigeminal ganglion is a sensory ganglion of the trigeminal nerve that occupies a cavity in the dura mater, covering the trigeminal impression near the apex of the petrous part of the temporal bone.-Relations:It is somewhat crescentic in shape, with its convexity...
  
  
• Middle cranial fossa
  Middle cranial fossa
  The middle fossa, deeper than the anterior cranial fossa, is narrow medially and widens laterally to the sides of the skull. It is separated from the posterior fossa by the clivus and the petrous crest....
  
  
• Anterior cranial fossa
  Anterior cranial fossa
  The floor of the anterior fossa is formed by the orbital plates of the frontal, the cribriform plate of the ethmoid, and the small wings and front part of the body of the sphenoid; it is limited behind by the posterior borders of the small wings of the sphenoid and by the anterior margin of the...
  
  
• Middle meningeal artery
  Middle meningeal artery
  The middle meningeal artery is typically the third branch of the first part of the maxillary artery, one of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery...
  
  
• Cribriform plate
  Cribriform plate
  The cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone is received into the ethmoidal notch of the frontal bone and roofs in the nasal cavities....
  
  
• Posterior cranial fossa
  Posterior cranial fossa
  The posterior cranial fossa is part of the intracranial cavity, located between the foramen magnum and tentorium cerebelli. It contains the brainstem and cerebellum.This is the most inferior of the fossae. It houses the cerebellum, medulla and pons....
  
  
• Nasociliary nerve
  Nasociliary nerve
  The nasociliary nerve is a branch of the ophthalmic nerve. It is intermediate in size between the two other main branches of the ophthalmic nerve, the frontal nerve and the lacrimal nerve, and is more deeply placed.-Path:...
  
  
• Hypoglossal canal
  Hypoglossal canal
  The hypoglossal canal is a bony canal in the occipital bone of the skull.-Anatomy:It transmits the hypoglossal nerve from its point of entry near the medulla oblongata to its exit from the base of the skull near the jugular foramen...