Bones of the Cranial Vault Flashcards
7 cards from real Anatomy Exam practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Bones of the Cranial Vault flashcards as text
Which suture separates the two parietal bones from each other along the midline?
Answer: Sagittal suture
The sagittal suture runs anteroposteriorly in the midline, separating the right and left parietal bones.
The pterion, the thinnest region of the temporal fossa, is the junction of how many bones?
Answer: Four
The pterion is where four bones meet: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and greater wing of the sphenoid.
The hypophyseal fossa, which houses the pituitary gland, is bounded anteriorly by which structure?
Answer: Tuberculum sellae
The tuberculum sellae forms the anterior boundary of the hypophyseal fossa (sella turcica), with the dorsum sellae forming the posterior boundary.
Which type of ossification produces the bones of the cranial vault?
Answer: Intramembranous ossification
The flat bones of the cranial vault form by intramembranous ossification, where bone develops directly within a connective tissue membrane without a cartilage precursor.
The asterion is the point of junction between the parietal, occipital, and which other bone?
Answer: Temporal bone
The asterion is located where the lambdoid, parietomastoid, and occipitomastoid sutures meet, joining the parietal, occipital, and temporal bones.
A depressed skull fracture involving the inner table but not the outer table is best described as which type?
Answer: Ping-pong fracture
A ping-pong (or pond) fracture is an indentation of the inner table with an intact outer table, seen primarily in newborns due to the pliable calvaria.
Which meningeal branch primarily supplies the dura overlying the parietal bone?
Answer: Middle meningeal artery
The middle meningeal artery, a branch of the maxillary artery, is the primary blood supply to the dura mater overlying the parietal and temporal regions.