The neurocranium (or neural skull) has the brain portion of the CNS. It is divided into two parts: the first is called the skull cap and the second is called the skull base.
Also learn about the Skull and Viscerocranium!
The skull cap is an ovoid portion formed by 7 bones: 1 frontal, 2 parietal, 2 temporal, 1 sphenoid and 1 occipital. The bones have three layers: the outer cortical, the diploe, and the inner cortical.
On the outer surface of the skull cap, we identified many sutures (fusion points between the bones). In them, we can identify:
- Sagittal suture: joins the two parietal bones.
- Coronal suture: joins the parietal to the frontal bones.
- Lambdoid suture: joins the two parietal bones to the occipital bone.
- Squamosal suture: located in the lateral region of the vault, it joins the parietal to the temporal bone;
- Sphenotemporal suture: It is formed by the junction of the squamous suture with the sphenoid bone.
In addition to the sutures, we have the grooves on the inner part of the cap, such as the vascular grooves (impressions formed by the meningeal vessels), the sagittal groove (which houses the superior sagittal sinus) and the granular foveolae (depressions that house the arachnoid granulations).
At the skull base, we have the ethmoid, sphenoid, temporal and occipital bones.
The ethmoid participates in the formation of the nasal septum. It has the cribriform foramina or cribriform plate (where the branches of the first cranial nerve, the olfactory nerve, pass).
The sphenoid is a unique bone that is divided into 4 parts: body, lesser wing, greater wing and pterygoid processes.
The temporal bone is divided into 6 parts: the squamous, zygomatic, tympanic, styloid, mastoid and petrous parts.
Finally, the occipital bone has 3 parts: lateral, basilar and squamous.
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