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Side view of the skull Human skull side sutures right. A suture is a type of fibrous joint that is only found in the skull (cranial suture). The bones are bound together by Sharpey's fibres. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the compliance and elasticity of the skull. These joints are synarthroses. [1]
It lies at the junction between the sagittal suture and lambdoid suture. At birth, the skull features a small posterior fontanelle with an open area covered by a tough membrane, where the two parietal bones adjoin the occipital bone (at the lambda). The posterior fontanelles ossify within 6–8 weeks after birth.
If certain bones of the skull grow too fast then premature fusion of the sutures, craniosynostosis, may occur. [1] This can result in skull deformities. [1] These deformities include: [3] Brachycephaly (both sides) Plagiocephaly (one side only) Oxycephaly (both sides)
The head rests on the top part of the vertebral column, with the skull joining at C1 (the first cervical vertebra known as the atlas). The skeletal section of the head and neck forms the top part of the axial skeleton and is made up of the skull, hyoid bone, auditory ossicles, and cervical spine. The skull can be further subdivided into:
The frontal and parietal bones are joined by the coronal suture. The two separate parietal bones are connected at the sagittal suture. The blowhole of sperm whales is located on the crown of the head and allows the whale to breathe. Below the crown, the frontal bone and the parietal bones are separated by a range of fibrous joints called ...
Initially, the connective tissue-filled gaps between the bones are wide, and are called fontanelles. After birth, as the skull bones grow and enlarge, the gaps between them decrease in width and the fontanelles are reduced to suture joints in which the bones are united by a narrow layer of fibrous connective tissue. [1]
The calvaria is made up of the superior portions of the frontal bone, occipital bone, and parietal bones. [1] In the human skull, the sutures between the bones normally remain flexible during the first few years of postnatal development, and fontanelles are palpable. Premature complete ossification of these sutures is called craniosynostosis.
Bones are commonly described with the terms head, neck, shaft, body and base. The head of a bone usually refers to the distal end of the bone. The shaft refers to the elongated sections of long bone, and the neck the segment between the head and shaft (or body). The end of the long bone opposite to the head is known as the base.