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From the skull to the face: How do these 22 bones shape our face?
In the human skeletal structure, the axial skeleton plays a key role. It is composed of the bones of the head and trunk and supports the overall structure. The human axial skeleton is made up of 80 bones, including the skull, spine, ribs and hyoid bone. These bones not only provide support for our form, but also protect many important internal organs.
Structure
Flat bones protect not only the brain, but many other vital organs as well. Although this article focuses primarily on the human axial skeleton, it is equally important to understand its evolutionary context. These 81 different bones form the core region of the body and connect the pelvis to the body, providing a solid foundation for the appendicular skeleton. As we age, these bones weaken, leaving only the skull bone strong enough to protect the brain from damage. The main functions provided by the human axial skeleton are as follows:
Protecting the brain, spinal cord, heart, and lungs, it also serves as an attachment station for the muscles that move.
Human skull
The human skull can be divided into the cranial cavity and facial bones. The cranial cavity provides protection for the brain and contains a space called the cranial vault. The skull is made up of eight flat-shaped bones that are joined together at contact joints (sutures). There are 14 facial bones, forming the front and lower part of the skull.
The most important parts of the skull include the mandible, maxilla, zygomatic bone and nasal bone.
When humans are born, the skull is composed of multiple independent plates. These plates will fuse during the birth process to make it more flexible and facilitate smooth passage through the pelvis and birth canal. These eight tiny bones eventually fuse into one complete structure, with only the jawbone remaining separate.
Ribs
The rib cage consists of 12 pairs of ribs and a sternum, a total of 25 bones. The main function of the ribs is to protect important internal organs such as the heart and lungs. The ribs are crescent-shaped, with one end rounded and the other flat. They are connected to the thoracic vertebrae at the back and to the sternum at the front.
The upper seven pairs of ribs are connected to the sternum through the costal cartilage and are called "true ribs"; the eighth to tenth pairs of ribs are called "false ribs" because they are not directly connected to the sternum; and the last two pairs of ribs are called "false ribs". These are called "floating ribs" and they are not connected to the sternum or other ribs.
Spine
Humans are born with 33 separate vertebrae, but as they age, these vertebrae gradually fuse together, leaving only about 24. The confusion here comes from the fact that the two lowest vertebrae, the sacrum and coccyx, are made up of multiple small bones fused together. The spine can be divided into five parts: cervical vertebrae (7 vertebrae), thoracic vertebrae (12 vertebrae), lumbar vertebrae (5 vertebrae), sacral vertebrae (5 vertebrae) and coccygeal vertebrae (3 to 5 vertebrae). The structural design of each part takes into account the flexibility and stability of the human body, providing us with good body support and balance.
Etymology
The term "axis" comes from the concept of "axis", meaning that these bones are located near the central "axis" of the body and form the skeletal foundation of the body.
SummaryFrom the skull to the facial bones, these 22 bones not only shape our faces, but also play an indispensable role in protecting and supporting the human body structure. Will the design and evolution of these bones have a profound impact on our future human survival?
