Human cranium
| Skull | |
|---|---|
Volume rendering of a mouse skull
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| Details | |
| System | Skeletal system |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | cranium |
| Greek | κρανίον |
| FMA | 46565 |
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Anatomical terminology
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The skull is a bony structure that forms the head of the skeleton in most vertebrates. It supports the structures of the face and provides a protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. In the human these two parts are the neurocranium and the viscerocranium or facial skeleton that includes the mandible as its largest bone. The skull forms the anterior most portion of the skeleton and is a product of cephalisation—housing the brain, and several sensory structures such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In the human these sensory structures are part of the facial skeleton.
Functions of the skull include protection of the brain, fixing the distance between the eyes to allow stereoscopic vision, and fixing the position of the ears to enable sound localisation of the direction and distance of sounds. In some animals such as horned ungulates, the skull also has a defensive function by providing the mount (on the frontal bone) for the horns.
The English word "skull" is probably derived from Old Norse "" meaning bald, while the Latin word cranium comes from the Greek root κρανίον (kranion).
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