Summary
Highlights
The human skull consists of 22 bones, part of the axial skeleton, divided into eight cranial bones and fourteen facial bones. Cranial bones are mostly single except for two pairs, while facial bones are mostly pairs except for two single bones.
The two pairs of cranial bones are the parietal bones, forming the sidewalls of the cranium (remember 'parietal' sounds like 'pair'), and the temporal bones, located inferior to the parietal bones, near the temples.
The single cranial bones include the frontal bone (forehead), sphenoid bone (butterfly-shaped, spans the cranium), ethmoid bone (strainer-like, enclosed within the skull), and occipital bone (back of the head, processes visual images).
A mnemonic to remember the cranial bones from front to back is: "Ethan's fried Spanish pasta tempted Octavia" (Ethmoid, Frontal, Sphenoid, Parietal, Temporal, Occipital).
The two single facial bones are the mandible (jaw bone, strongest bone in the face) and the vomer (thin, flat bone forming the inferior nasal septum).
The paired facial bones include the nasal bones (bridge of the nose), inferior nasal concha (shell-shaped bones in the lower nose), lacrimal bones (near tear ducts), palatine bones (posterior part of the hard palate), zygomatic bones (cheekbones), and maxilla/maxillary bones (largest area of the face, articulates with most facial bones).
A mnemonic to remember the facial bones is: "My mouth's palate never like zucchini in vinegar" (Mandible, Maxilla, Palatine, Nasal, Lacrimal, Zygomatic, Inferior Nasal Concha, Vomer).
Beyond the 22 skull bones, associated bones in the vicinity include the hyoid bone (U-shaped, attaches to the tongue, aids swallowing) and the auditory ossicles (three ear bones: malleus, incus, and stapes, also known as hammer, anvil, and stirrup).
The video concludes by offering a free quiz on the website to test knowledge of skull bones, along with mentioning future anatomy videos covering cranial sutures and landmarks.