INTRODUCTION

Over the course of the semester you will learn to identify the bones of the human skeleton as well as important features on individual bones.  We will learn the bones in six lab sessions, with this first lab session focusing on skull bones.

One of the best ways to learn the bones is to draw them and label the important features and landmarks.  Using the lab manual as well as reference books available in the lab (e.g., White's Human Osteology and Bass' Human Osteology), you will draw and label the bones of the skull.
 

OBJECTIVES

• To identify the bones of the human skull.

• To label the important features of the skull bones.

• To practice carefully handling skeletal material.

READINGS

• Review the information on human osteology in Chapter 2 of the lab manual and text book.

• Read the sections on skull bones and teeth in Chapter 2 of the lab manual and text book.

TERMS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In addition to the bones and features you will label on your drawings, you should understand the meanings of the following terms.

• single bone
• paired bone
• condyle
• process
• protuberance
• foramen
• foramina
• canal
• dental formula
• occlusion

• parietal
• temporal
• zygomatic
• maxilla (plural: maxillae)
• nasal
• lacrimal
• palatine
• inferior nasal concha (plural: conchae)

• frontal
• occipital
• sphenoid
• mandible
• ethmoid
• vomer
• hyoid

INSTRUCTIONS

Closely examine the skull bones laid out in the lab, being sure to handle the bones gently, as discussed in lecture, and to keep the bones with their labels.  You must wear gloves when handling real bones.

You will draw and label bones and landmarks to the best of your ability. 

Use the lab manual as well as the reference books to assist in identifying and labeling your drawings.  Additional handouts will be provided in class.  The Skull Module posted by Cal State at Chico is also useful if you need additional assistance.

Please use pencil and unlined paper for the drawings, and only draw on one side of the paper. 

Use one colored pencil for labeling the bones and a second color for labeling the features/landmarks. 

Use white-out to correct mistakes. 

When labeling landmarks, use actual dots or points indicating the locations of the landmarks.
 
SKULL BONES

Due to the limited number of skulls, please work with partners and work efficiently with the skull specimens.

Some skulls have broken parts, such as the nasal conchae. Be sure to draw or label all the relevant bones or features, even if they are broken on the particular specimen you are using. Check other specimens or the reference books for the shapes and locations of any broken and missing bones or features.

All students will draw and identify the bones/features/landmarks of a lateral view of the skull.  Be sure the sutures are clearly drawn between the skull bones visible from the lateral view; you must draw all the suture lines, even though you are not labeling all of them. Label this drawing as LATERAL VIEW.

All students will draw and identify the features the other skull bones (hyoid, teeth) listed in the table below.  Label these drawings as SUPERIOR VIEW or LATERAL VIEW and include the bone name.  For example:  HYOID, SUPERIOR VIEW. Be sure to draw lines separating the crown and root on each tooth!

In addition, all students will identify bones/features/landmarks on four additional views of the skull (superior, inferior, anterior, posterior).  Xeroxes of these views will be handed out in the lab.  You should look at an actual skull (as opposed to a book or a photograph) when completing these sheets.

Because of their small size and comparative irrelevance in forensic investigations, we will not draw the bones of the inner ear.  However, everyone should look at the ear bones displayed in the lab.

The table below indicates which bones and features you must draw and/or identify for each skull view.  You will lose points if you mislabel, don't use two colors on your drawings, misspell, or omit any of these bones and features.  Note that if the words below are plural, there should be two bones/features labeled on that drawing. If your labeling arrow points to one bone, the associated term should be singular; if your labeling arrow points to two bones, the associated term should be plural.