LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lecture, the student should be able to:
Discuss the parts of the cranium and the bones that constitute each part.
Enumerate the different parts and landmarks of the cranium in each of its aspects.
Give the boundaries, contents and neurovasculature of the infratemporal fossa.
Define temporomandibular joint.
Give the movements of the temporomandibular joint.
Discuss the muscles of mastication.
CRANIUM
CRANIUM
The cranium is the skeleton of the head.
It is composed of twenty-two named bones.
It is divided into two main parts: the neurocranium and the viscerocranium.
Anatomical Position: The inferior margin of the orbit and the superior margin of the external acoustic opening of the external acoustic meatus of both sides lie in the same horizontal plane.
Several bones of the cranium are pneumatized bones, meaning they contain air spaces to decrease their weight.
Examples of pneumatized bones include the frontal, temporal, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones.