Chapter 7 Study Guide
1. About how much of the body is made up by the skeleton?
About 20% of the body mass.
2. What are the two major divisions of the skeletal system?
Axial and Appendicular
3. What are the three major regions of the axial skeleton?
Skull, Vertebral column and thoracic cage.
4. What are the functions of the axial skeleton?
Form longitudinal axis of body, Support head, neck, and trunk, Protect brain, spinal cord, and thoracic organs
5. What are the two sets up bones that make up the skull?
Cranial and Facial bones
6. What is a suture? List and describe the location of each of the 4 major sutures.
a fibrous joint that connects the bones of the skull, forming a rigid, immovable connection. Coronal and Sagittal
sutures are on the top of the skull. Lambdoid suture is on the back of the skull and the squamous suture is on
the side of the skull.
7. What is a sutural bone?
Tiny, irregularly shaped bones that appear within sutures. Significance is unknown, as not everyone has these
8. What are the 2 major divisions of the cranium?
The vault and the base
9. What are the 3 divisions of the cranial base?
Anterior, middle and posterior fossae
10. What is the general purpose for the 85 openings found in the skull?
Provide passageways for spinal cord, major blood vessels, and the 12 cranial nerves
11. What is the function of the foramen magnum?
To connect the brain to the spinal cord.
12. How many bones make up the cranium? List them and where they are located.
Eight cranial bones. The frontal bone which is anterior, two parietal bones which are in the middle top of the
cranium, occipital bone which is posterior, two temporal bones which are on in the middle lateral sides of the
cranium, sphenoid bone and ethmoid bone which are anterior/internal.
13. The temporal bone has three major regions. List them and the functions of their special features.
Squamous: zygomatic processes articulate with zygomatic bone to form zygomatic arch and
mandibular fossa makes up part of temporomandibular joint
Tympanic: surround external acoustic meatus (external ear canal)
Petrous: houses middle and internal ear cavities
1. About how much of the body is made up by the skeleton?
About 20% of the body mass.
2. What are the two major divisions of the skeletal system?
Axial and Appendicular
3. What are the three major regions of the axial skeleton?
Skull, Vertebral column and thoracic cage.
4. What are the functions of the axial skeleton?
Form longitudinal axis of body, Support head, neck, and trunk, Protect brain, spinal cord, and thoracic organs
5. What are the two sets up bones that make up the skull?
Cranial and Facial bones
6. What is a suture? List and describe the location of each of the 4 major sutures.
a fibrous joint that connects the bones of the skull, forming a rigid, immovable connection. Coronal and Sagittal
sutures are on the top of the skull. Lambdoid suture is on the back of the skull and the squamous suture is on
the side of the skull.
7. What is a sutural bone?
Tiny, irregularly shaped bones that appear within sutures. Significance is unknown, as not everyone has these
8. What are the 2 major divisions of the cranium?
The vault and the base
9. What are the 3 divisions of the cranial base?
Anterior, middle and posterior fossae
10. What is the general purpose for the 85 openings found in the skull?
Provide passageways for spinal cord, major blood vessels, and the 12 cranial nerves
11. What is the function of the foramen magnum?
To connect the brain to the spinal cord.
12. How many bones make up the cranium? List them and where they are located.
Eight cranial bones. The frontal bone which is anterior, two parietal bones which are in the middle top of the
cranium, occipital bone which is posterior, two temporal bones which are on in the middle lateral sides of the
cranium, sphenoid bone and ethmoid bone which are anterior/internal.
13. The temporal bone has three major regions. List them and the functions of their special features.
Squamous: zygomatic processes articulate with zygomatic bone to form zygomatic arch and
mandibular fossa makes up part of temporomandibular joint
Tympanic: surround external acoustic meatus (external ear canal)
Petrous: houses middle and internal ear cavities
