Calvaria (skull)
| Calvaria (skull) | |
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| Gray's | p.189 |
The calvaria or skullcap (feminine Latin noun with plural calvariae; however many medical texts list the word as "calvarium", neuter Latin noun with plural "calvaria") is the upper part of the cranium and surrounds the cranial cavity containing the brain.
The calvaria (skull cap) is made up of the superior portions of the frontal bone, occipital bone, and parietal bones.[1]
The outer surface of the skull possesses a number of landmarks. The point at which the frontal bone and the two parietal bones meet is known as "Bregma". The point at which the two parietal and occipital bones meet is known as "Lambda". Not only do these landmarks indicate the fontanelle in newborns, they also act as reference points in medicine and surgery.
In the fetus, the formation of the Calvaria involves a process known as intramembranous ossification, although the base of the skull (underlying the brain) develops through endochondral ossification.
The inner surface of the skull-cap is concave and presents depressions for the convolutions of the cerebrum, together with numerous furrows for the lodgement of branches of the meningeal vessels.
Along the middle line is a longitudinal groove, narrow in front, where it commences at the frontal crest, but broader behind; it lodges the superior sagittal sinus, and its margins afford attachment to the falx cerebri.
On either side of it are several depressions for the arachnoid granulations, and at its back part, the openings of the parietal foramina when these are present.
It is crossed in front by the coronal suture and behind by the lambdoid suture, while the sagittal suture lies in the medial plane between the parietal bones.
References
- ↑ Tubbs, R. Shane; Anand N. Bosmia and Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol (27 November 2011). "The human calvaria: a review of embryology, anatomy, pathology, and molecular development". Child's Nervous System. doi:10.1007/s00381-011-1637-0. PMID 22120469.
- Tubbs, R Shane; Loukas Marios, Shoja Mohammadali M, Apaydin Nihal, Salter E George, Oakes W Jerry (April 2008). "The intriguing history of the human calvaria: sinister and religious". Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery (Germany) 24 (4): 417–22. doi:10.1007/s00381-007-0509-0. ISSN 0256-7040. PMID 18026961.
External links
- calvaria at eMedicine Dictionary
- Cross section at UV skull/calv-inf
- Cross section at UV skull/calv-sup
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