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OCTOBER 18, 2019
AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
PARIETAL BONE
OCCIPITAL BONE MASTOID PROCESSS
The brain is often called the most sophisticated and complex structure in the known universe. And each of us owns one! The design of the human body seems to understand the brain’s importance: an article about the mechanics of head injuries in The Lancet reported that the skull is one of the least deformable structures found in nature. It takes the force of about 1 ton to change the diameter of the skull by so much as a single centimeter, according to FRONTAL BONE The Lancet. The skull is so strong that brain injuries are seldom the result of an injury that penetrates the skull; more frequently the cause is trauma that bounces the brain around within its secure confines. Confines is the appropriate word because intracranial space is highly limited. Swelling of the brain causes pressure that has nowhere to escape. In centuries past, this pressure would some times be relieved by drilling a hole in the skull, a procedure known as trepanning. While it may sound hopelessly primitive, a similar procedure is done today to relieve intracranial pressure to prevent traumatic brain injury or to attempt to relieve it. TEMPORAL BONE The skull has more than 40 bones at birth, but in an adult multiple bones have fused together for a final total of 22, eight of which form the cranium along with fourteen more intricate bones which make up the facial structure. A notable exception to the fusions which transform a soft ZYGOMATIC baby skull into “one of the least deformable structures found in BONE nature” is the jawbone or mandible. Its hinged design allows for eating, speech, and other important things like yawning and going to the dentist. The mandible is like a car door wired MAXILLARY through its hinges to keep all its functions intact whether it SPHENOID BONE BONE is open or closed. Stripped of skin and hair (not recommended) it would be easy to see that the skull and mandible are sheathed in muscles (see illustration below). These muscles permit facial expressions, speech, chewing, and wiggling our ears to amuse small children. This is the barest snapshot of the MANDIBLE skull and its amazing intricacies. Hopefully it will spark your interest in doing additional research. In closing, here is a quote from the Skull Owner’s Manual: “Always protect the skull using a helmet appropriate to activities like football, biking, and motorcycling.” Good words to try to get through our thick skulls. +
THE HUMAN SKULL BODY PARTS: THE OCCASIONAL SERIES
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