skull

Also known as cranium, 💀, subdivision of skull

The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate.

AI overview

The skull, also called the cranium, is a bony structure that encloses and protects the brain in vertebrates, though in some fish and amphibians it may be made of cartilage instead. Located at the head end of the body, the skull serves as a protective case for this vital organ.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Anatomy.Name: Skull
Anatomy.System: Skeletal system
Anatomy.image: VolRenderShearWarp.gif
Anatomy.Caption: Volume rendering of a mouse skull

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

278,634 papers

Skull Anatomy in "Saint Jerome in the Wilderness" by Leonardo da Vinci.ReviewWorld neurosurgery · 2023Keshelava GDOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.04.091
Cerebrospinal fluid can exit into the skull bone marrow and instruct cranial hematopoiesis in mice with bacterial meningitis.Nature neuroscience · 2022Pulous FE, Cruz-Hernández JC, Yang C et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01060-2
Modularity, homology, heterochrony: Gavin de Beer's legacy to the mammalian skull.ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Hall BK, Hanken JDOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0078
Automatic skull defect restoration and cranial implant generation for cranioplasty.Medical image analysis · 2021Li J, von Campe G, Pepe A et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2021.102171
Skull dysfunction.Cranio : the journal of craniomandibular practice · 1991Berman SDOI: 10.1080/08869634.1991.11678373
Imaging the brain by traversing the skull with light and sound.ReviewNature biomedical engineering · 2025Estrada H, Deffieux T, Robin J et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41551-025-01433-5
Age-related skull fracture patterns in infants after low-height falls.Pediatric research · 2023Ruiz-Maldonado TM, Alsanea Y, Coats BDOI: 10.1038/s41390-022-02345-9
A Deep Learning Framework for Skull Stripping in Brain MRI.Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference · 2023Tabassum M, Al Suman A, Russo C et al.DOI: 10.1109/EMBC40787.2023.10340846

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: A2613-Museum Geologi-Fosil Tengkorak.jpg

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: Skulls
Unicode character: 💀
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12789
ground level 360 degree view URL: www.zygotebody.com/#nav=0.75,126.89,58.47,0,0,0,0&sel=p:;h:;s:1059;c:-0.6;o:-0.75&layers=0,1,6250
Commons gallery: Animal skull

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~23 min read

Article

26 sections

Contents

Structure
Humans{{anchor|Structure_of_human_skull}}
Bones
Cavities and foramina
Processes
Other vertebrates
Fenestrae
Bones
Fish
Tetrapods
Birds
Amphibians
Development
Clinical significance
Injuries and treatment
Transgender procedures
Society and culture
Osteology
Sexual dimorphism
Craniometry
Terminology
History
Additional images
See also
References
External links

The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate.

In a human, the skull comprises two prominent parts: the neurocranium and the facial skeleton, which evolved from the first pharyngeal arch. The skull forms the frontmost portion of the axial skeleton and is a product of cephalization and vesicular enlargement of the brain, with several special senses structures such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and, in fish, specialized tactile organs such as barbels near the mouth.