The human skull is a bony structure, part of the skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.
The adult human skull is said to consist of two categorical parts of different embryological origins: The neurocranium and the viscerocranium. The neurocranium (or braincase) is a protective vault surrounding the brain and brain stem. The viscerocranium (also splanchnocranium or facial skeleton) is formed by the bones supporting the face.
Except for the mandible, all of the bones of the skull are joined together by sutures, synarthrodial (immovable) joints formed by bony ossification, with Sharpey's fibres permitting some flexibility.
Read more about Human Skull: Components, Development of The Skull, Pathology, Craniometry and Morphology of Human Skulls, Sexual Dimorphism, Additional Images
Famous quotes containing the words human and/or skull:
“You’ve committed murder just as much as Hélène did. You killed a fly with a human head, she killed a human with a fly head. If she murdered so did you.”
—James Clavell (b. 1924)
“Locked in each human skull is a little world all its own.”
—Robert Tusker, and Michael Curtiz. Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill)