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Cranial base

The cranial base (also known as base of the skull, or skull base, Latin: basis cranii) is the most inferior part of the skull forming the floor of the cranial cavity. The cranial base is formed by five bones: ethmoid, sphenoid, occipital, both frontal and both temporal bones.

Cranial base, external cranial base, internal cranial base
Cranial base by Anatomy.app

The base of the skull can be inspected from two sides - from inside and outside.

The inner aspect of the cranial base is known as the internal cranial base, and it is topographically divided further into three regions - anterior, middle and posterior cranial fossae.

Fossae of internal cranial base
Fossae of internal cranial base by Anatomy.app

The outside of the cranial base is called the external cranial base.

External cranial base
External cranial base by Anatomy.app