cranium

views updated May 29 2018

cranium (skull) In the axial skeleton of vertebrates, the bony structure that encases the brain. The cranium comprises three parts: dermatocranium; chondrocranium; and splanchnocranium. The dermatocranium is derived from the neural crest cells of the integument and includes the roof of the cranium, the area around the orbits, and the jaw. The chondrocranium is derived mostly from cartilaginous material by endochondrial ossification and includes the floor of the cranium. The splanchnocranium is derived from skeletal elements derived from the gut and gives rise to the visceral skeleton (gill arches and derivatives such as larynx and trachea).

cranium

views updated May 11 2018

cra·ni·um / ˈkrānēəm/ • n. (pl. -ni·ums or -ni·a / -nēə/ ) Anat. the skull, esp. the part enclosing the brain.

cranium

views updated May 23 2018

cranium XVI. — medL. crānium — Gr. krāníon, rel. to kárā head, and hence to the group of kéras, L. cornū HORN. The comb. form is cranio- (see -O-), as in craniology XIX.
Hence cranial XVIII.

cranium

views updated May 08 2018

cranium (skull) In the axial skeleton of vertebrates, the bony structure that encases the brain. The cranium comprises three parts: dermatocranium; chondrocranium; and splanchnocranium. The dermatocranium includes the roof of the cranium, the area around the orbits, and the jaw. The chondrocranium includes the floor of the cranium. The splanchnocranium gives rise to the visceral skeleton (gill arches and derivatives such as larynx and trachea).

cranium

views updated May 09 2018

cranium (brain case) The part of the vertebrate skull that encloses and protects the brain. It is formed by the fusion of several flattened bones, which have immovable joints (sutures) between them.

cranium

views updated May 23 2018

cranium (kray-niŭm) n. the part of the skeleton that encloses the brain. It consists of eight bones connected together by immovable joints (see skull).
cranial adj.

cranium

views updated Jun 27 2018

cranium The skull, especially the dome-shaped part that protects the brain. It is composed of eight bones that are fused together.