Question

Which of the skull bones are movable?

Answer 1

Hint: The skull is a bone structure that forms the head of the vertebrates. It protects the structures of the face and provides the brain with a protective cavity. The skull consists of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, these two sections are the neurocranium and the viscerocranium (facial skeleton) which includes the mandible as its largest bone.

Complete Answer:
- There are 14 bones that sustain the muscles and organs of the face and are generally referred to as facial bones. The mandible, or jaw bone, is the only movable bone in the skull that forms a temporomandibular joint with the temporal bone.

- The lower jaw is formed by the mandible and holds the lower teeth in place. The term "mandible" is derived from the Latin word "mandibula," meaning "one used for chewing".

- With the exception of the mandible, all bones of the skull are connected together by sutures
- Synarthrodial (immovable) joints created by bone ossification, with Sharpey's fibres allowing some flexibility. Often extra bones can be located inside the suture known as worm bones or sutural bones. Most commonly, these are found in the lambdoid suture phase.

- The lower teeth are rooted in the mandible, while the upper teeth are rooted in the two maxillae.The mandible is the only bone that remains separated from the rest of the skull.

Note: A set of 22 bones, the skull protects the essential brain and supports the other soft tissues of the head. During foetal growth, the skull bones grow within the tough, fibrous membranes of the fetus' brain. As these bones grow during the development of the foetal and adolescence, they begin to join together, forming a single skull.