Musculoskeletal System - Skull Development

Introduction

Historic images of the skull by Vesalius

The Skull is a unique skeletal structure in several ways: embryonic cellular origin (neural crest), form of ossification (intramembranous and endochondrial) and flexibility (fibrous sutures).

The cranial vault (which encloses the brain) bones are formed by intramembranous ossification. While the bones that form the base of the skull are formed by endochondrial ossification.

The bones enclosing the brain have large flexible fibrous joints (sutures) which allow firstly the head to pass through the birth canal and secondly postnatal brain growth.

In humans, ossification continues postnatally, through puberty until mid 20s and in old age the sutures separating the vault plates are often completely ossified.

In the entire skeleton, early ossification occurs in the jaw and at the ends of long bones (More? see movie developing mouse). Osteoblasts manufacture bone and are derived from ectomesenchymal in origin. (More? see lineage below). Flexible fibrous sutures allow growth of the brain to be accomodated by calvarial plate growth. Recent studies have show that noggin (a BMP antagonist) is involved in closure of these sutures.

Historic Embryology - Musculoskeletal
1853 Bone \| 1885 Sphenoid \| 1902 - Pubo-femoral Region \| Spinal Column and Back \| Body Segmentation \| Cranium \| Body Wall, Ribs, and Sternum \| Limbs \| 1901 - Limbs \| 1902 - Arm Development \| 1906 Human Embryo Ossification \| 1906 Lower limb Nerves and Muscle \| 1907 - Muscular System \| Skeleton and Limbs \| 1908 Vertebra \| 1908 Cervical Vertebra \| 1909 Mandible \| 1910 - Skeleton and Connective Tissues \| Muscular System \| Coelom and Diaphragm \| 1913 Clavicle \| 1920 Clavicle \| 1921 - External body form \| Connective tissues and skeletal \| Muscular \| Diaphragm \| 1929 Rat Somite \| 1932 Pelvis \| 1940 Synovial Joints \| 1943 Human Embryonic, Fetal and Circumnatal Skeleton \| 1947 Joints \| 1949 Cartilage and Bone \| 1957 Chondrification Hands and Feet \| 1968 Knee

References

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Musculoskeletal System Development - All (44637) Review (5065) Free Full Text (6601)
Musculoskeletal Development - All (44637) Review (5065) Free Full Text (6601)

Search Pubmed: Musculoskeletal System Development | Musculoskeletal Development

Additional Images

Adult axial skeletonon
Endochondral bone
Fetal head lateral (12 weeks)
Fetal head medial (12 weeks)
Fetal head section (12 weeks)

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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 26) Embryology Musculoskeletal System - Skull Development. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Musculoskeletal_System_-_Skull_Development

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