Skull & Skeletal Landmarks – Chapter 26 Review

A set of 50 question-and-answer flashcards covering the skeletal landmarks, skull sutures, individual bones, foramina, and related anatomical details from Chapter 26.

What is the general anatomical term for any bony prominence?

A process.

Give two examples of a bony process mentioned in the notes.

Alveolar process and coronoid process.

Which rounded, oval prominence is usually involved in joints?

A condyle.

Name the condyle located on the mandible.

The mandibular condyle.

What large, often rough prominence is found on bone surfaces, such as the maxillary ?

A tuberosity; example: the maxillary tuberosity.

What do we call a small, rounded elevation on bone surfaces like the genial ?

A tubercle; example: genial tubercle.

Which bony depression is an indentation at the edge of a bone?

A notch.

What is the alternative name for the mandibular notch?

The sigmoid notch.

Which term describes a shallow groove on bone marking the path of blood vessels or nerves?

A sulcus.

What deeper depression or concavity includes examples such as the canine, infratemporal, and submandibular?

A fossa.

What do we call a short, window-like opening in bone (e.g., mental or infraorbital)?

A foramen.

Which longer, narrow, tube-like opening in bone transmits the inferior alveolar nerve?

The mandibular canal (a canal).

What term is used for a canal-type opening in the temporal bone that conducts sound?

The external acoustic meatus.

Which narrow, cleft-like opening is found between the pterygoid process and maxilla?

The pterygomaxillary fissure (a fissure).

What is the general term for an area where bones are joined, either movable or immovable?

A skeletal articulation.

Define a joint in skeletal terminology.

A junction between two or more bones.

What fibrous union between skull bones appears as a jagged line?

A suture.

Which suture joins the frontal and parietal bones?

The coronal suture.

Which midline suture lies between the two parietal bones?

The sagittal suture.

Which suture unites the temporal and parietal bones?

The squamosal suture.

Name the V-shaped suture between the parietal and occipital bones.

The lambdoidal suture.

How many bones make up the entire skull?

Twenty-two bones.

How many neurocranial bones are in the skull?

Eight neurocranium bones.

How many facial (viscerocranium) bones are present?

Fourteen viscerocranium bones.

Which skull bone is the only freely movable one?

The mandible.

Which single cranial bone forms the base of the cranium and completely surrounds the foramen magnum?

The occipital bone.

With which cervical vertebra does the occipital bone articulate?

The atlas (C1).

Which bone forms the forehead and roof of each orbit and contains paired sinuses?

The frontal bone.

Which paired bones form most of the lateral skull wall and meet at the sagittal suture?

The parietal bones.

Which paired cranial bones form the lateral skull walls in the temporal region and part of the cranial base?

The temporal bones.

Which single cranial bone is described as bat- or butterfly-shaped?

The sphenoid bone.

Through which sphenoid foramen does the maxillary nerve (V2) pass?

The foramen rotundum.

Through which sphenoid foramen does the mandibular nerve (V3) pass?

The foramen ovale.

Which cranial bone contains the cribriform plate important for olfaction?

The ethmoid bone.

What small paired facial bones form the bridge of the nose?

The nasal bones.

Which facial bone is commonly called the cheekbone?

The zygomatic bone.

The horizontal plate of which bone forms the posterior hard palate?

The palatine bone.

Which foramen is usually located superior to the apices of the maxillary second or third molars?

The greater palatine foramen.

What structures pass through the greater palatine foramen?

The greater palatine nerve and blood vessels.

Which foramen transmits nerves and vessels to the soft palate?

The lesser palatine foramen.

How many maxillae fuse to form the upper jaw?

Two maxillae.

Which sinus, located in the maxilla, is the largest paranasal sinus?

The maxillary sinus.

Which maxillary process forms the tooth sockets for the upper teeth?

The alveolar process of the maxilla.

What is the prominent ridge over the root of each maxillary canine called?

The canine eminence.

Which mandibular landmark fits into the temporal fossa to form part of the TMJ?

The mandibular condyle.

What is the anterior superior projection on the ramus of the mandible called?

The coronoid process.

What depression lies between the coronoid process and the mandibular condyle?

The mandibular (sigmoid) notch.

Which mandibular foramen is located on the internal surface of the ramus?

The mandibular foramen.

Which foramen lies on the external surface of the mandible near the premolars?

The mental foramen.

Name the two paranasal sinuses specifically highlighted in the notes.

The frontal sinus and the sphenoidal sinus.

Which bone is described as a free-floating bone forming the base of the tongue and larynx?

The hyoid bone.