The skeleton of the head and neck includes the skull, middle ear ossicles, hyoid bone, and cervical vertebrae. The skull comprises several separate bones united at immobile joints called sutures. The mandible is an exception to this rule, as it is united to the skull by the mobile, synovial Temporomandibular Joints (TMJ). The skull has 22 bones, organized into a cranial skeleton (8 bones) that surrounds the brain and a facial skeleton (14 bones). The cranial cavity is the space containing the brain. The skull vault (calvarium) is the upper part of the cranium and forms the roof and side walls of the cranial cavity. The Base of the skull is the lowest part of the cranium and forms the floor of the cranial cavity.
(Session 2025 - 26)