Dog · Bone · Head
Skull
Cranium
The braincase and the face in one: the occipital condyles carry the atlas, the zygomatic arch gives the masseter its origin, the temporal fossa holds the temporalis, and the tympanic bulla encloses the middle ear.
- System
- Bone
- Region
- Head
- Sides
- Single, on the midline
- Named parts
- 9
Where it runs from and to
A muscle is told apart from its neighbours by what it takes hold of at each end, which is also what decides what it does when it shortens.
- Action
- The braincase and the face in one: the occipital condyles carry the atlas, the zygomatic arch gives the masseter its origin, the temporal fossa holds the temporalis, and the tympanic bulla encloses the middle ear.
Written for Vetomica in its own words from the standard reference anatomy of the dog; the books it was checked against are listed below.
Named parts
What to look for on the bone, and what each part is called in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria.
- Foramen magnumForamen magnum
- The opening at the back of the braincase where the spinal cord leaves.Miller 2020, p. 197
- Occipital condylesCondyli occipitales
- The pair of surfaces to either side of it that rest in the atlas.Miller 2020, p. 205
- External occipital protuberanceProtuberantia occipitalis externa
- The bump at the back of the head on the midline.Miller 2020, p. 205
- Nuchal crestCrista nuchae
- The ridge running out from it across the back of the skull.Miller 2020, p. 204
- External sagittal crestCrista sagittalis externa
- The midline ridge forward from that crest, which the temporalis arises from.Miller 2020, p. 204
- Temporal fossaFossa temporalis
- The broad hollow on the side of the braincase that the temporalis fills.Miller 2020, p. 208
- Zygomatic archArcus zygomaticus
- The bar of bone below the eye that the masseter arises from.Miller 2020, p. 221
- Tympanic bullaBulla tympanica
- The rounded shell on the underside that encloses the middle ear.Miller 2020, p. 216
- External acoustic meatusMeatus acusticus externus
- The opening into the ear canal on the side of that shell.Miller 2020, p. 220
What it meets
Bones it articulates with
Joints it forms
- Atlanto occipital joint
- Temporomandibular joint
Measured on the specimen
What the skull is in contact with in the model itself, with the share of the other structure’s surface it covers. A contact is not always a joint: bones that simply lie against one another are in this list too.
- Dens praemolaris IV maxillaris25%
- Dens praemolaris IV maxillaris25%
- Dens molaris I maxillaris22%
- Dens molaris I maxillaris22%
- Atlas9%
- Dens praemolaris III maxillaris34%
- Dens praemolaris III maxillaris34%
- Dens molaris II maxillaris31%
Measured on the left side.
Terminology
- English
- Skull
- Latin (NAV)
- Cranium
- Status
- A valid term in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria
References
Where to read this structure in full, and where the named parts above were read.
- Miller 2020Miller 2020, ch. 4 The Skeleton, Skull / The Skull as a Whole, PDF p. 193, 244
- König & Liebich 2020skull of carnivores, p. 95-99
- Dyce 2017ch. 11 Head and Ventral Neck of the Dog and Cat, p. 359; ch. 2 Locomotor Apparatus, p. 29
- NAV 2017Osteologia