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Related Concept Videos

Sutures of the Skull01:22

Sutures of the Skull

The human skull is composed of several bones that come together to protect the brain and support the structures of the face. The junctions where these bones meet are called sutures.
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
Cranial Bones: Lateral View01:27

Cranial Bones: Lateral View

The lateral view of the cranium is dominated by temporal, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones.
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View01:14

Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View

The superior view of the cranium shows the frontal and paired parietal bones.
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
Overview of the Skull01:08

Overview of the Skull

The cranium (skull) is the skeletal structure of the head that supports the face and protects the brain. It is subdivided into the facial bones and the brain case, or cranial vault. The facial bones underlie the facial structures, form the nasal cavity, enclose the eyeballs, and support the teeth of the upper and lower jaws.
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification01:29

Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification

Intramembranous ossification is one of the two processes involved in the development of bones within an embryo. The flat bones of the face, most of the cranial bones, and the clavicles are formed via this process. During intramembranous ossification, the bones develop directly from sheets of undifferentiated mesenchymal connective tissue.
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...

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Analyzing Craniofacial Morphogenesis in Zebrafish Using 4D Confocal Microscopy
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Published on: January 30, 2014

Evolving maps in craniofacial development.

Yorick Gitton1, Eglantine Heude, Maxence Vieux-Rochas

  • 1Evolution des Régulations Endocriniennes, CNRS UMR 7221, Muséum National, d'Histoire Naturelle, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.

Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology
|January 20, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Vertebrate head shaping involves complex embryonic tissue interactions and molecular signaling. Understanding these processes is key to craniofacial development and evolution.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Craniofacial Development
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Vertebrate head development is a complex process involving interactions between ectoderm, endoderm, mesoderm, and Cephalic Neural Crest Cells (CNCCs).
  • Embryonic tissues rapidly change shape and position, with transient contacts crucial for signaling.
  • Molecular signals exchanged at these interaction sites provide positional identity for craniofacial structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advances in understanding the spatial and temporal aspects of facial morphogenesis.
  • To focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying jaw specification during embryonic development.

Main Methods:

  • This is a review article, synthesizing existing research.
  • Focuses on analyzing molecular signaling pathways and their spatio-temporal dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Spatio-temporal modifications in signaling maps can significantly alter craniofacial development.
  • These modifications may play a role in the evolution of facial diversity.
  • Abnormal signaling patterns are implicated in congenital craniofacial malformations.

Conclusions:

  • Integrated signaling between embryonic tissues is fundamental to vertebrate head formation.
  • Precise control of molecular signals is essential for normal craniofacial development and may explain evolutionary diversity.
  • Further research into these mechanisms can inform our understanding of birth defects.