Structure of the skull

The structure of the skull is studied not only by anthropologists, doctors and pathologists, but also representatives of creative professions - artists, sculptors. The skull is not just complex in structure, it is, despite the visible strength, quite fragile, although it is designed to protect the brain from bumps and injuries. The complex structure of the skull is due to the fact that the brain in it must constantly be in communication, communicate with the human body. Biochemical resources along the branched vascular system flock to the brain every second. To this message was continuous and physiological in the skull, there are channels, holes, pits, twisting passages.

Anatomically, the structure of the skull is divided into two sections: the cranial arch and the facial part. Also, the skull has a base and a roof. The cranial bones are flat and dense enough, they are connected by a serrated suture, similar to all the familiar zipper. The docking site has a layer of fairly elastic embryonic connective tissue (mesenchyme). This fabric, like an additional gluing layer, firmly connects the cranial bones among themselves. The only bones of the skull, which are characteristic of movement, are the jaws and occipital bone, which connects to the first vertebra of the neck.

Infants, whose embryonic tissue - the mesenchyme has not yet ossified, have a more delicate structure of the skull, this helps them to move along the birth canal without damaging the path and the head itself. These fragile areas of the infant's skull are called fontanel. The most extensive frontal fontanel ossifies after a year and a half, smaller in size, but more vulnerable occipital to only two years.

As soon as the baby's dental bone system is formed and the teeth begin to appear, the front part of the skull starts to overtake the part where the brain is located in the development.

The human head consists of 29 bones, they are distributed as follows:

• cranial - 22 bones;
• ear (hearing aid) - 6 bones;
• Bone under the base of the tongue (sublingual) - 1.

The structure of the skull can be divided into two structural categories - the vault or the medulla and the facial part.

The skull, the axial skull, is the eight basic bones. Since the cranial vault performs a protective function, protecting the brain from the impact of bumps, its bones are very strong and much thicker than the facial ones. The bones of the arch consist of specific double plates, which are filled with a spongy substance - diploe. Through all the spongy tissue passes a lot of capillaries, vessels and nerve endings, which constantly feed both the bone marrow and the inner parts of the bones of the skull.

Structure of the cranial vault:

• The bone that forms the forehead is the frontal;
• Two bones forming the parietal part - parietal;
• Two bones forming whiskey - temporal;
• Unpaired bone, which is called wedge-shaped, consisting of a body, small wings, large wings and appendages;
• The bone that forms the occiput is occipital.

The face of the skull or visceral skull is also designed to protect sensory organs from the effects of an aggressive external environment. From the way the facial bones are arranged and correlated, the appearance, or rather the person's face, depends. In addition to the bones that form the nose, mouth and pharynx, a standard set of teeth is included in the structure of the facial structure - 16 pieces per upper and lower jaw. Teeth with periosteum attached to the jaw holes. Teeth, in turn, also consist of a specific bone tissue that is enriched with phosphates. The health of human teeth depends on the quality of dentin - dental bone tissue.

Structure of the facial part of the skull: 

• Two bones forming the nose - nasal; 
• Bones forming cheekbones are zygomatic; 
• Upper jaw; 
• Lower jaw.

The structure of the skull and its formation depends on the person's age:

• The growth of the skull is intense in the period beginning from the day of birth and up to 7-8 years. During the first year of life, the bones of the skull grow evenly, and the posterior part of the skull greatly increases up to three years-this is due to the fact that the child begins to walk. Also during this period the facial part of the skull is actively developing due to the growth of teeth and the formation of chewing muscles. At seven years old, the child has a skull base almost identical to an adult.
• The growth of the skull somewhat slows down in the period from 8 years to 13-14 years. At this time the body is occupied with another important task - the formation of sexual organs and systems, their maturation. The volume of the cranial vault usually does not exceed 1250-1300 cm ³.
• At the end of puberty, the frontal and facial parts of the skull actively develop. In representatives of the stronger sex, facial bones stretch out in length, in girls this process is not so intense, the childish roundness remains. The skull of a man is slightly larger than the female and in size and in capacity. In women, the volume does not exceed 1345 cm ³, in men the volume reaches 1600 cm ³. However, the representatives of the weaker sex have more developed bones of the brain part of the skull, and in men - the front.
• The skull changes its structure in old age. This is associated with loss of teeth, and with atony of the chewing muscles. The skull bones lose their former elasticity and become vulnerable, fragile.

The structure of the skull may also depend on race and some types of congenital pathologies.

[1], [2], [3], [4]