Two sets of bones comprise the skull: cranial bones and facial bones. The cranial bones
have two functions. First of all, they protect and enclose the brain. Second, they provide
the site for which the head muscles can attach. The facial bones provide the framework for
the face and mouth. All bones comprising the skull are attached to each other via
immovable joints, except for the mandible which is attached to the skull via a freely
movable joint. There are eight cranial bones which make up the cranium. These bones are
remarkable thin and can be compared to an eggshell in the way that they are self-bracing.
The forehead is formed by the frontal bone which also forms the upper half of the eye
sockets. Two parietal bones comprise the sides of the skull. Named so because they are
above the parietal area of the brain, the parietal bones form the bulk of the cranium.
Temporal bones lie inferior to the parietal bones on both sides of the skull. The
occipital bone, also named for the part of the brain it covers, forms the posterior of the
skull. The sphenoid bone encloses the rest of the cranial cavity. It lies behind the eye
sockets anterior to the temporal bones and posterior to the frontal bone.
The face is comprised
of roughly seven bones. The sides of the eye sockets are formed by the Zygomatic bones.
The rest of the sockets are formed by the Maxilla, which is two bones that are fused
together. The upper teeth are attached to the inferior of the Maxilla. The jaw is formed
by the mandible where the lower teeth reside on the superior surface.
