cranium

(noun)

the part of the skull enclosing the brain, the braincase

Related Terms

Examples of cranium in the following topics:

  • The Axial Skeleton

    • The human cranium consists of the flat bones of the cranium and includes the facial bones.
    • The cranium protects the brain that is contained in the cranial vault.
    • The cranium is formed from eight bones connected by sutures.
    • Fourteen facial bones form the lower front part of the cranium.
    • The human cranium supports the structures of the face and forms the brain cavity.

  • The Evolution of Craniata and Vertebrata

    • Members of Craniata posses a cranium, which is a bony, cartilaginous, or fibrous structure surrounding the brain, jaw, and facial bones .
    • The clade Craniata includes all vertebrates and the hagfishes (Myxini), which have a cranium but lack a backbone.
    • Craniata, including this fish (Dunkleosteus), are characterized by the presence of a cranium, mandible, and other facial bones.
    • All vertebrates are in the Craniata clade and have a cranium.

  • Sutures

    • A suture is a type of fibrous joint (or synarthrosis) that only occurs in the skull (or cranium).
    • The joint between the mandible and the cranium, known as the temporomandibular joint, forms the only non-sutured joint in the skull.

  • Sutures

    • A suture is a type of fibrous joint (synarthrosis) bound by Sharpey's fibers that only occurs in the skull (cranium).
    • A suture is a type of fibrous joint which only occurs in the cranium, where it holds bony plates together. 
    • The joint between the mandible and the cranium, the temporomandibular joint, forms the only non-sutured joint in the skull.

  • Functional Classification of Joints

    • This category includes fibrous joints such as suture joints (found in the cranium) and gomphosis joints (found between teeth and sockets of the maxilla and mandible).

  • Fontanels

    • The cranium of a newborn consists of five main bones: two frontal bones, two parietal bones, and one occipital bone.

  • Accessory (XI) Nerve

    • It begins in the central nervous system (CNS) and exits the cranium through a foramen.

  • Brain Tumors

    • Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal.

  • Sensory-Somatic Nervous System

    • Humans have 12 cranial nerves, nerves that emerge from or enter the skull (cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves, which emerge from the vertebral column.

  • Structural Classification of Joints

    • Sutures are the types of joint found in the cranium (skull).