Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Skull
Part of the axial endoskeleton inside the head where it incloses and protects the brain
Most complex of all the parts of the endoskeleton = derived from different sources
Three Components
1. Chondocranium = original cartilaginous brain case which ossifies as cartilage bone and
is the termed the nuerocranium
2. Dermatocranim = set of dermal bones that become attached to the surface of the
chondocranium
3. Splanchnocranium = series of endoskeletal arches that originally acted as gill supports
B. The Splanchnocranium
1. Introduction
Part of the endoskeleton which supports the gills and furnishes attachment for respiratory
muscles
Called visceral skeleton = because gills are part of the wall of the digestive tract and the
mesoderm in which the visceral skeleton develops is the splanchnic mesoderm, not the
sclerotomal mesoderm
Consists of a longitudinal series of crescentic elements situated in the pharyngeal wall
between the gill slits
Gill Arch = each element or called the skeletal visceral arch (typically 7)
C. The Dermatocranium
D. The Formation of the Cartilage Bones of the Skull and the Composition of the Complete Skull