The Skull Is Twenty-Two Bones, Not One
The skull is the bony framework of the head. It is made of many separate bones fused along visible joints.
The skull is the bony framework enclosing the brain and forming the face. It is not a single bone but twenty-two, joined along wavy seams called *sutures*. A newborn's skull bones are separate, connected by soft *fontanelles* that let the head compress during birth and the brain grow afterwards; they close over the first two years. The *cranium* is the part enclosing the brain; the *mandible* is the only skull bone that moves.
- The head's bony frame. *A human skull.*
- Cranium — the braincase. *The cranium.*
- Suture — a skull joint. *Cranial sutures.*
- Fontanelle — a soft spot. *The fontanelle.*
- Old Norse — *skalli*. *Probable source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | skull | A skull. |
| Plural | skulls | Skulls. |
| Adjective | cranial | Cranial. |
| Related | cranium | The cranium. |
| Compound | skullcap | A skullcap. |
- The skull protects the brain.Anatomy.
- Sutures join the skull bones.Structure.
- Fontanelles close by age two.Development.
Parts of the skull
- Cranium — the eight bones enclosing the brain
- Facial bones — fourteen, forming the face
- Mandible — the jaw, the only one that moves
- Sutures — the wavy immovable joints between bones
- Foramen magnum — the large opening for the spinal cord
Middle English *scolle*, probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse *skalli*, a bald head.
How many bones are in the skull?
Twenty-two: eight in the cranium and fourteen in the face, joined by immovable seams called sutures.
What are fontanelles?
The soft gaps between a baby's skull bones. They allow the head to compress during birth and the brain to grow, closing within about two years.