The Axial Skeleton

I highly recommend Professor Wissman’s sites

 For bones:
http://homepage.smc.edu/wissmann_paul/bones/EBbon
estutorial.html
 Check out all his links:
http://homepage.smc.edu/wissmann_paul/anatomy1/

Also check out:

 Site for xrays & other diagnostic procedures:

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/sitemap/category
.cfm?category=diag
This is an example of
Prof Wissman’s bone
site; this doesn’t show
the roll-over answers

http://homepage.smc.edu/wissmann_paul/bones/EBbonestutorial.html
 THE SKELETAL SYSTEM
The Axial Skeleton
 The skeleton consists of
 Bones (206)
 Cartilages
 Joints – also called articulations, are the
junctions between skeletal elements
 Ligaments – connect bones

 Divided into axial and appendicular

 Axial skeleton - forms long axis of body
 Skull
 Vertebralcolumn
 Thoracic cage

 Appendicular skeleton – appendages and

what they attach to
 Upper limbs (arms)
 Pectoral girdle (shoulder)
 Lower limbs (legs)
 Pelvic girdle
Axial skeleton
Skull
Vertebral column
Thoracic cage

Axial skeleton is shown in green

 The Skull
 Cranial bones (or cranium)
 Enclose the cranial cavity, which supports and protects
the brain
 Attachment sites for some head and neck muscles

 Facial bones (anterior aspect of skull)

 Form framework of face
 Form cavities for sense organs of sight, taste and smell
 Provides openings for passage of air and food
 Hold the teeth
 Anchor the muscles of the face
 Cranium
 Vault – “calvaria” = skullcap
 Forms superior, lateral and
posterior aspects of skull, Anterior cranial
and forehead fossa

 Base or floor: inferior part Middle cranial

 Prominent bony ridges divide fossa
cranial base into 3 “fossae”
(steps) – anterior, middle and Posterior cranial
posterior fossa

(looking down on the floor of the skull)

Cranial bones

 Frontal bone
 Parietal bones (paired)
 Occipital bone
 Temporal bones (paired)
 Sphenoid bone
 Ethmoid bone
Cranial bones

frontal
parietal parietal parietal

_______sphenoid
temporal _____ethmoid
occipital
occipital
Temporal bones
this is the right temporal bone
looking at it from the right side
Small cranial bones… Ethmoid

Sphenoid
Sutures
 Immovable, interlocking joints of flat bones of
skull
 Irregular, saw-toothed appearance
 Largest 4 skull sutures: where bones articulate
with parietal bones
 Coronal
 Sagittal
 Squamous
 Lambdoid (FIND THEM)
Find: coronal, squamous and lamboid sutures
Find: sagittal and lambdoid sutures
 Cranial “cavity” – houses brain
 Smaller cavities
 Housing middle and inner ear
 Nasal cavity
 Orbits
 Sinuses
 Openings (foramina, canals, fissures) for:
 Spinalcord
 Blood vessels
 Twelve cranial nerves: I-XII
Remember, the skull is composed of:
1. Cranial bones (or cranium)
[these were just reviewed]

and

2. Facial bones (anterior aspect of skull)

 Form framework of face
 Form cavities for sense organs of sight, taste
and smell
 Provides openings for passage of air and food
 Hold the teeth
 Anchor the muscles of the face
Facial bones

 Mandible
 Vomer
 Maxillae (paired)
 Zygomatics (paired)
 Nasal (paired)
 Lacrimal (paired)
 Palatines (paired)
 Inferior nasal conchae (paired)
Facial bones: Mandible
Vomer
Maxillae (paired)
Zygomatics (paired)
Nasal (paired)
Lacrimal (paired)
Palatines (paired)
Inferior nasal conchae
(paired)
 Maxilla (there are 2 which
fuse, forming the upper jaw)

Mandible (lower jaw)

 (part of slide 18)
nasal bone

Nasal cavity
ethmoid
inf nasal concha
 Of bone and cartilage maxilla___________ vomer

 Roof is ethmoid’s
cribriform plate
 Floor formed by palatine
processes of the 2
maxillae and horizontal
plates of palatine bones
 These nasal-floor
structures form roof of the
mouth, called the hard
palate
 Nasal cavity

To left, bones forming the left

lateral wall of the nasal cavity
(nasal septum removed)

To right, nasal cavity with nasal septum

in place, showing how the ethmoid
bone, septal cartilage, and vomer make
up the septum
 Orbit
Cone-shaped bony cavities holding the eyes,
muscles that move the eyes, some fat and tear-
producing glands; you don’t need to know all these
bones that form it, just realize how complex it is and
recognize the optic canal (optic nerve passes out
through it)

(right orbit shown)

Paranasal sinuses
 Air-filled sacs in the bones
 “Paranasal” because they cluster around
and connect to the nasal cavity
 Hyoid bone
 Only bone which does not
articulate with any other
bone
 Moveable base for the
tongue
 Points of attachment for
neck muscles that raise
and lower the larynx
during swallowing
Remember that the
Axial skeleton includes:
Skull
Vertebral column
Thoracic cage

Axial skeleton is shown in green

The Vertebral Column

 Fetus and infant: 33 separate

bones, or vertebrae

 Adult: 24 vertebrae
 Inferior 9 have fused forming
 The sacrum (5) and
 The coccyx (4)
Vertebrae

 Cervical – 7
 Thoracic - 12
 Lumbar - 5
 Sacrum (5 fused)
 Coccyx (4 fused)
 Spinal curvatures
 Cervical and lumbar are
concave posteriorly* (lordosis)
 Thoracic and sacral are
convex posteriorly* (kyphosis)
 Abnormal (see lab book p120):
 Too much of either
 Scoliosis (more than 10 degrees
of lateral curvature)

*when viewed from the side

 Non-bony parts
 Intervertebral
discs
 anulus fibrosis
and nucleus
pulposus)
 Anterior
longitudinal
ligament
 Posterior
longitudinal
ligament
 Ligamentum
flavum
Anterior longitudinal ligament: wide, strong and attaches to vertebrae as
well as discs (prevents hyperextension)
Posterior longitudinal ligament: narrow and relatively weak, attaching only
to discs

Note “intervertebral foramen” vs “vertebral foramen” on next slides

Structure of a typical vertebra
 Cervical vertebrae (C1-C7)
C1 (atlas)
C2 (axis)
Cervical Vertebrae
 Smallest
 Lightest
 Most flexible
 Triangular vertebral
foramen
 Transverse
processes have
foramina
(transverse
foramen)
 Spinous process
bifid (forked) except
for C7
Thoracic Vertebrae T1-T12
 Heart shaped
body
 Additional small
costal facets
(costal=ribs)
 Round or oval
vertebral
foramen
 Form posterior
part of rib cage
Lumbar Vertebrae L1-L5

 Massive
blocklike
bodies
 Short, thick
hatchet-shaped
spinous
processes
 Limited mobility
 Shapes posterior wall of pelvis

The Sacrum Composite bone of 5 fused vertebrae

Sacral foramina allow passage of vessels & nerves

Coccyx
(the tailbone)
Remember that the
Axial skeleton includes:
Skull
Vertebral column
Thoracic cage

Axial skeleton is shown in green

The Thoracic Cage
Sternum Ribs

 Manubrium  True ribs 1-7

 Body  False ribs 8-12

 Xiphoid process  Floating ribs 11,12

Vertebral and Sternal Articulations
Typical rib
Disorders of the axial skeleton
 Scoliosis (over 10% curvature)

 Kyphosis

 Lordosis

 Vertebral compression fractures

 Spinal stenosis
 Fontanels

 Unossified remnants of
membranes
 Present at birth
 Anterior fontanel largest
 Called “soft spots”
 Ossify by 1 ½ - 2 years

Continue to ossify into

adulthood; the sutures can
become fused in old age
Some abnormalities (early fusion) of
sutures: “craniosynostosis”
Metopic Synostosis and trigonocephaly
A: Preop
B: 2 years after
frontal orbital
advancement

Sagittal synostosis and scaphocephaly

The most common suture to fuse is the middle or sagittal suture. Often the
back or front of the skull will be worse but the overall shape is a long skull
with a shortened distance from ear to ear.

Diagram of
Pre-op CAT scan 2 years post-op
surgery From - http://www.ppsca.com/skull.htm