- The bones of the Skull comprise two groups: bones of the cranium and bones of the face.
- Cranial bones create the cranial cavity, which encases the brain.
- The major cranial bones are the: frontal, temporal (paired), parietal (paired), occipital, and sphenoid (paired).
- The major facial bones are the mandible, maxilla (paired), nasal (paired), and zygomatic (paired) bones.
NOTES:
- A lateral view shows nicely that the facial bones are essentially placed onto the anteroinferior side of the skull.
- The mandible is known in lay terms as the jaw (the mandible is handled in its own separate glossary post).
![Right lateral view of the bones of the skull.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-lateral-1937a-1-1024x1024.jpg)
Right lateral view of the bones of the skull.
![Right lateral view of the bones of the skull colored.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-lateral-1937-colors-Jan-7-2005-1024x896.jpg)
Right lateral view of the bones of the skull colored.
![Anterior view of the bones of the skull.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-anterior-1989-731x1024.jpg)
Anterior view of the bones of the skull.
![Anterior view of the bones of the skull colored.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-anterior-1989-colors-Jan-7-2005-1024x1024.jpg)
Anterior view of the bones of the skull colored.
![Posterior view of the bones of the skull.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-posterior-2316-731x1024.jpg)
Posterior view of the bones of the skull.
![Posterior view of the bones of the skull colored.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-posterior-2316-colors-Jan-7-2005-1024x1024.jpg)
Posterior view of the bones of the skull colored.
![Inferior view of the bones of the skull.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-inferior-2067-modified-782x1024.jpg)
Inferior view of the bones of the skull.
![Inferior view of the bones of the skull colored.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-inferior-2067-modified-colors-Jan-7-2005-1024x956.jpg)
Inferior view of the bones of the skull colored.
![Superior view of the bones of the skull - internal cranial cavity.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-internal-3328-777x1024.jpg)
Superior view of the bones of the skull – internal cranial cavity.
![Superior view of the bones of the skull - internal cranial cavity with the bones colored.](https://learnmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/10-Cranium-internal-colors-3328-Jan-7-2005-1024x989.jpg)
Superior view of the bones of the skull – internal cranial cavity with the bones colored.