Cranial and facial bones

sphenoid bone

A compound bone that forms the base of the cranium, behind the eye and below the front part of the brain. It has two pairs of broad lateral "wings" and a number of other projections, and contains two air-filled sinuses.

vomer

A flat bone of trapezoidal shape forming the inferior and posterior portion of the nasal septum; it articulates with the sphenoid, ethmoid, two maxillae, and two palatine bones.

palatine

Adjective: Pertaining or referring to the (hard or soft) palate.

ethmoid

Ethmoid literally means sieve-like. The ethmoid is an irregularly shaped bone lying between the orbital plates of the frontal bone and anterior to the sphenoid bone of the cranium; it consists of two lateral ethmoidal labyrinths of thin plates enclosing air cells, attached above to a perforated horizontal lamina, the cribriform plate, from which descends a median, vertical, perpendicular plate in the interval between the two labyrinths; the bone articulates with the sphenoid, frontal, maxillary, lacrimal, and palatine bones, the inferior nasal concha, and the vomer; it enters into the formation of the anterior cranial fossa, the orbits, and the nasal cavity, forming the supreme, superior, and middle conchae of the latter.

zygomatic bone

In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (cheekbone, malar bone) is a paired bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone.

nasal concha

One of the three scroll-like bones that project medially from the lateral wall of the nasal cavity; a turbinate bone. The superior and middle conchae are processes of the lateral mass of the ethmoid bone; the inferior concha is a facial bone. Each overlies a meatus.

temporal bone

The compound bones that form the left and right sides of the skull.

frontal bone

The frontal bone or os frontale is a bone in the human skull. The name comes from the Latin word frons (meaning "forehead"). The bone resembles a cockleshell in form, and consists of three portions.[1] These are the squamous part, the orbital part, and the nasal part.

occipital bone

The occipital bone, a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the skull, is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself. It is pierced by a large oval opening, the foramen magnum, through which the cranial cavity communicates with the vertebral canal. The curved, expanded plate behind the foramen magnum is named the squama occipitalis. The thick, somewhat quadrilateral piece in front of the foramen is called the basilar part of occipital bone, - the basioccipital. On either side of the foramen are the lateral parts of occipital bone, -the exoccipitals.

Unpaired bones

There are 6 unpaired bones (for a total of 6 individual bones) - ethmoid frontal bone occipital bone sphenoid bone vomer mandible

Paired bones

There are 8 sets of paired bones (for a total of 16 individual bones) - nasal concha lacrimal bone maxilla nasal bone / os nasale palatine parietal bone temporal bone zygomatic bone

Paired and unpaired bones of the skull

There are 8 sets of paired bones and 6 unpaired bones that make up the bones of the skull.

nasal bone / os nasale

an elongated rectangular bone that, with its fellow, forms the bridge of the nose; it articulates with the frontal bone superiorly, the ethmoid and the frontal process of the maxilla posteriorly, and its fellow medially.

lacrimal bone

an irregularly rectangular thin plate, forming part of the medial wall of the orbit posterior to the frontal process of the maxilla; it articulates with the inferior nasal concha, ethmoid, frontal, and maxillary bones.

maxilla

one of two identical bones that form the upper jaw. The maxillae meet in the midline of the face and often are considered as one bone. They have been described as the architectural key of the face because all bones of the face except the mandible touch them. Together the maxillae form the floor of the orbit for each eye, the sides and lower walls of the nasal cavities, and the hard palate. The lower border of the maxilla supports the upper teeth. Each maxilla contains an air space called the maxillary sinus.

mandible

the horseshoe-shaped bone forming the lower jaw. adj., adj mandib´ular. It consists of a central portion, which forms the chin and supports the lower teeth, and two perpendicular portions, or rami, which point upward from the back of the chin on either side and articulate with the temporal bones.

parietal bone

the two skull bones located between the frontal and occipital bones and which form the top and sides of the cranium.