Maxilla

The maxilla is the bone

that forms your upper
jaw. The right and left
halves of the maxilla are
irregularly shaped
bones that fuse together
in the middle of the
skull, below the nose, in
an area known as the
intermaxillary suture.
The maxilla is a major
bone of the face.
Sphenoid bone
The sphenoid bone is
one of the eight bones
that make up the
cranium – the superior
aspect of the skull that
encloses and protects
the brain.
Its name is derived from
the Greek ‘sphenoeides’, to mean wedge-shaped.
Parietal bone
The parietal bone covers the centre of the skull, sometimes referred to as the os parietale, a paired, flat
cranial bone. Parietal bones protect the right and left parietal lobes of the brain. The parietal bone, a
neurocranium component, helps shape the head and protects the brain.
Occiptal bone
The occipital bone is a very complex bone that serves primarily to protect the cerebellum and the occipital
lobes of the cerebrum and to provide attachment to several muscles and ligaments described below. It is
trapezoidal and shallowly curved on itself.
Palatine bone
The palatine bones contribute to the posterior part of the roof of the mouth and floor and lateral walls of the
nose, the medial wall of the maxillary sinuses and the orbital floors. Each bone (Fig. 5-66) consists of
horizontal and perpendicular plates (laminae) set at right angles to each other.
Zygomatic bone
The zygomatic bone (or zygoma) is a paired, irregular bone that defines the anterior and lateral portions of
the face. The zygomatic complex is involved in the protection of the contents of the orbit and the contour of
the face and cheeks.
Vomer
The vomer is a small, thin, plow-shaped, midline bone that occupies and divides the nasal cavity. It
articulates inferiorly on the midline with the maxillae and the palatines, superiorly with the sphenoid via its
wings, and anterosuperiorly with the ethmoid.
Frontal bone
The frontal bone in an adult is an unpaired bone that is a part of the boney structure that forms the anterior
and superior portions of the skull. At the beginning of life, it is a bone separated by a temporary suture
called the frontal suture.
Temporal bone
The temporal bones comprise the lateral skull base, forming portions of the middle and posterior fossae.
Each temporal bone is composed of five osseous parts: the squamous, mastoid, petrous, tympanic, and
styloid portions.