occipital bone

Characteristics

• unpaired bone of the cranium, forming the inferior posterior aspect of the skull & enclosing the foramen magnum

Structure

• it consists of 3 parts: basilar, condyle & squamous

Articulation

• the occipital bone articulates with the parietal bone & temporal bone on either side, the sphenoid bone anteriorly & the atlas (C1) inferiorly.

More general terms

• bone

More specific terms

• basioccipital
• basiocciput; basilar apophysis; basilar/basal process/part of occipital bone
• cruciform/cruciate eminence
• jugular process of occipital bone
• jugular tubercle of occipital bone
• occipital/frontal squama; squamous part of occipital bone
• petrooccipital/Ecker fissure
• pharyngeal tubercle of basilar part of occipital bone

Component of

• skull (cranium)

Components

• foramen magnum
• condylar canal
• hyoglossal canal or foramen
• external occipital protuberance