Bones and bony landmarks Anatomy

Parietal

a bone forming the central side and upper back part of each side of the skull.

External acoustic meatus

a bony canal for the ear canal, a tube running from the outer ear to the middle ear

Sagittal suture

a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint between the two parietal bones of the skull

Lambdoid suture

a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint on the posterior aspect of the skull that connects the parietal bones with the occipital bone

Coronal suture

a dense, fibrous connective tissue joint that separates the two parietal bones from the frontal bone of the skull

Hyoid

a horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies at the level of the base of the mandible in the front and the third cervical vertebra (C3) behind

Palatine

a paired bone located between the maxillae and the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone

Lacrimal

a paired facial bone that makes up the most anterior part of the medial wall of the orbit. It is the size and shape of a fingernail and thus the smallest bone of the skull.

Zygomatic process

a rough triangular eminence, situated at the angle of separation of the anterior, zygomatic, and orbital surfaces

Styloid process

a slender pointed piece of bone just below the ear. It projects down and forward from the inferior surface of the temporal bone, and serves as an anchor point for several muscles associated with the tongue and larynx

Vomer

a small, thin, plow-shaped, midline bone that occupies and divides the nasal cavity

Ethmoid

an unpaired bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. It is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits.

Sphenoid

an unpaired bone of the neurocranium. It is situated in the middle of the skull towards the front, in front of the basilar part of the occipital bone.

Frontal

forehead bone

Squamous suture

forms the joint of the skull between the squamous part of the temporal bone and the inferior aspect of the parietal bone

Maxillary

forms the upper jaw by fusing together two irregularly-shaped bones along the median palatine suture, located at the midline of the roof of the mouth

Mastoid process

located in the posterior portion of the temporal bone. It is one of the two projections situated behind the ear. The mastoid process provides an attachment for certain muscles of the neck

Inferior nasal conchae

one of the three paired nasal conchae in the nose

Temporal

situated at the sides and base of the skull, overlaid by the sides of the head known as the temples, and house the structures of the ears

Occipital

t the lower-back of the cranium (skull). The occipital bone houses the back part of the brain and is one of seven bones that come together to form the skull. It is located next to five of the cranium bones

Mandibular fossa

the depression in the temporal bone that articulates with the mandible

Foramen magnum

the hole in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes

Mandible

the jaw or a jawbone, especially the lower jawbone

Condylar process

the process on the human mandible and some other species' mandibles that ends in a condyle, tip of the mandible

Zygomatic

two facial bones that form the cheeks and the lateral walls of the orbits. They are also commonly referred to a as the cheekbones

Occipital condyles

two large protuberances on the undersurface of the occipital bone, located besides the front half of the foramen magnum. It forms the connection between the skull and the vertebral coloumn

Nasal

two small oblong bones, varying in size and form in different individuals; they are placed side by side at the middle and upper part of the face and by their junction, form the bridge of the upper one third of the nose.