cranium

cranium /cra·ni·um/ (kra´ne-um) pl. cra´nia   [L.] the skeleton of the head, variously construed as including all of the bones of the head except the mandible, or as the eight bones forming the vault lodging the brain.cranial

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cranium bi´fidum  a congenitally incomplete skull, often with an incomplete brain.

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cra·ni·um (krn-m)

n. pl. cra·ni·ums or cra·ni·a (-n-)

The bony case enclosing the brain, excluding the bones of the face; braincase.

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cranium

[krā′nē·əm]

Etymology: Gk, kranion, skull

the bony portion of skull that holds the brain. It is composed of eight bones: the frontal, occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid, and paired temporal and parietal bones. cranial, adj.

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cranium,

n the skull that covers and protects the brain.

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cranium

pl. crania [L.] the skeleton of the head, variously construed as including all of the bones of the head, all except the mandible, or the eight bones forming the vault lodging the brain. See also head, skull, cranial.

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inherited cranium bifidum

a defect in the closure of the bones of the cranial vault causes exposure of the brain. Meningocele or encephalocele may be present. Affected animals do not survive. Called also cranioschisis.