Section of the Skull of a Human Male Displayed Alone

Description

Sectioned adult male calvaria is presented from a superior perspective with the cranial vault removed, exposing the anterior, middle, and posterior cranial fossae and the midline clivus. Anteriorly, the olfactory bulbs rest on the cribriform plate of the ethmoid, while the optic nerves converge on the optic chiasm just superior to the sella turcica of the sphenoid. Posterior to this, the brainstem (midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata) lies centrally, with cranial nerves radiating laterally toward their dural exits at the superior orbital fissure, foramen rotundum, foramen ovale, internal acoustic meatus, and jugular foramen, and with the foramen magnum occupying the posterior midline. Neuroanatomy teaching benefits from this kind of opened-cranium view because it links each cranial nerve to a named osseous landmark that you can also identify on CT of the skull base. The relationship of the optic chiasm to the tuberculum sellae and pituitary fossa is a frequent clinical anchor point, both for visual field deficits from pituitary macroadenoma and for planning a transsphenoidal approach. Skull base foramina matter in trauma as well, where fractures can injure the facial nerve at the internal acoustic meatus or the lower cranial nerves at the jugular foramen. Clean anatomy. Clear pathways. Use this illustration for head and neck anatomy courses, neurology and neurosurgery teaching files, radiology primers on skull base foramina, and textbook figures that need a direct correlation between cranial nerve emergence and bony exit points. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.