====== Skull ======
{{ ::skull.jpg?400|}}

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Bony structure in the [[head]] that supports the structures of the face and forms a protective cavity for the [[brain]]. 

===== Parts =====

The skull is composed of two parts: the [[cranial bone]] and the [[mandible]]. The skull forms the anterior most portion of the skeleton and is a product of encephalization, housing the [[brain]], many sensory structures (eyes, ears, nasal cavity), and the feeding system.

===== Functions =====

Functions of the skull include protection of the brain, fixing the distance between the eyes to allow stereoscopic vision, and fixing the position of the ears to help the brain use auditory cues to judge direction and distance of sounds. In some animals, the skull also has a defensive function (e.g. horned ungulates); the frontal bone is where horns are mounted.
The English word "skull" is probably derived from Old Norse "skalli" meaning bald, while the Latin word cranium comes from the Greek root κρανίον (kranion).

The skull is made of a number of fused flat bones.

see [[frontal bone]]

[[temporal bone]] 

[[parietal bone]]

[[occipital bone]]...


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As pressure within the [[skull]] increases, [[brain tissue]] displacement can lead to [[brain herniation]], resulting in disability or death.

The skull is a rigid, non-expandable compartment, therefore increased intracranial volume may lead to uncontrolled intracranial hypertension with subsequent cerebral ischemia and tissue death. The most common cause of this condition is [[traumatic brain injury]] (TBI) and [[stroke]]. However, it can also occur in the context of [[hydrocephalus]], [[tumor]]s, [[infection]]s, hemorrhage, and certain encephalopathies. At the beginning of the 20th century, neurosurgeons such as Kocher and Cushing systematically described techniques for removing cranial bone flaps to treat pathologies that caused an increase in intracranial pressure 
((Rossini Z, Nicolosi F, Kolias AG, Hutchinson PJ, De Sanctis P, Servadei F. The History of [[Decompressive Craniectomy]] in Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Neurol. 2019 May 8;10:458. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00458. PMID: 31133965; PMCID: PMC6517544.))

===== Skull tumor =====

see [[Skull tumor]].