Frontal

Contents

Name of bone

Frontal bone

Location/Articulation

The frontal bone in the human skull resembles a cockleshell in form, and consists of two portions:

a vertical portion, the squama frontalis, corresponding with the region of the forehead
an orbital or horizontal portion, the pars orbitalis, which enters into the formation of the roofs of the orbital and nasal cavities.

The frontal bone articulates with 12 bones:

Sphenoid
Ethmoid
Two parietals
Two nasals
Two maxillae
Two lacrimals
Two zygomatics

Muscle and ligament attachments

Surface anatomy

The border of the squama frontalis is thick and strongly serrated. It is bevelled at the expense of the inner table above, where it rests on the parietal bones, and at the expense of the outer table on either side, where it receives the lateral pressure of those bones. This border is continued below into a triangular, rough surface, which articulates with the great wing of the sphenoid. The posterior borders of the orbital plates are thin and serrated, and articulate with the small wings of the sphenoid.

Figure 1. Outer surface of the frontal bone