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Related Concept Videos

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...
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: 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,...
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...
Overview of the Axial Skeleton01:09

Overview of the Axial Skeleton

The skeleton is subdivided into two major divisions—the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton forms the vertical, central axis of the body. It includes all of the bones of the head, neck, chest, and back. It protects the brain, spinal cord, heart, and lungs. It also serves as the attachment site for muscles that move the head, neck, and back and for muscles that act across the shoulder and hip joints to move their corresponding limbs.
The axial skeleton of the adult...
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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The diverse neural crest: from embryology to human pathology.

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The issue of the multipotency of the neural crest cells.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 17, 2026

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face
08:15

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Published on: January 7, 2019

Piecing together the vertebrate skull.

Nicole M Le Douarin1

  • 1Collège de France, 3, rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France. nicole.le-douarin@college-de-france.fr

Development (Cambridge, England)
|November 8, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The avian skull

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Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton
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Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

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Exposure of the Pig CNS for Histological Analysis: A Manual for Decapitation, Skull Opening, and Brain Removal
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Exposure of the Pig CNS for Histological Analysis: A Manual for Decapitation, Skull Opening, and Brain Removal

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 17, 2026

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face
08:15

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Published on: January 7, 2019

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton
08:02

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Published on: May 7, 2016

Exposure of the Pig CNS for Histological Analysis: A Manual for Decapitation, Skull Opening, and Brain Removal
08:38

Exposure of the Pig CNS for Histological Analysis: A Manual for Decapitation, Skull Opening, and Brain Removal

Published on: April 13, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Embryology
  • Craniofacial development

Background:

  • The embryonic origin of the avian skull bones has been a long-standing debate in developmental biology.
  • Understanding craniofacial development is crucial for comprehending skeletal formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To precisely determine the embryonic origin of all bones forming the avian skull.
  • To resolve the debate regarding the source of skull bones in avian embryos.

Main Methods:

  • Application of the quail-chick chimera system in avian embryos.
  • Integration of data from the 1993 Development paper with previous research.

Main Results:

  • All bones of the avian skull were assigned a precise embryonic origin.
  • The neural crest was identified as the major source of skull bones.
  • Additional contributions were found from the head paraxial mesoderm and the first five somites.

Conclusions:

  • The study definitively resolved the debate on the embryonic origin of the avian skull.
  • Neural crest cells are the primary contributors to avian skull formation.
  • Head mesoderm and somites also play a role in skull development.