Cranial sutures are joints connecting the bones of the skull. These joints are synarthroses
– meaning they have no movement. The sutures seen on the skull’s anterior
include the frontonasal suture, frontozygomatic suture, zygomaticomaxillary suture, and intermaxillary
suture. The frontonasal suture links the frontal and nasal bones. If you need a review of the
bones of the skull, you can check out our videos on it (links in the description). The
frontozygomatic suture is found between the frontal bone and the zygomatic bone. The zygomaticomaxillary
suture is between the zygomatic and maxilla bones. The intermaxillary suture articulates
the two maxilla bones. In addition, children have a suture called the metopic or frontal
suture, which runs through the frontal bone. This suture normally disappears by the age
of 7, but in rare cases it can persist throughout a person’s lifespan!
Now we move on to the superior aspect of the skull, which has only one suture – the coronal
suture – found between the frontal and parietal bones. Note also that this point, which is
the convergence of the sagittal and coronal sutures, is called Bregma.
Now onto the posterior aspect of the skull! There are two sutures – the sagittal and
lambdoid sutures. The sagittal suture is found between the parietal bones, while the lambdoid
suture is found between the parietal and occipital bones. The point at which these sutures converge
is known as lambda. Now let’s look at the sutures on the skull’s
sides. Here we find five sutures – the sphenofrontal, sphenoparietal, occipitomastoid, temporozygomatic,
and squamous sutures. The sphenofrontal suture articulates the sphenoid and frontal bones,
the sphenoparietal suture is between the sphenoid and parietal bones, the occipitomastoid suture
connects the occipital bone and the temporal bone’s mastoid process, the temporozygomatic
suture links the temporal and zygomatic bones, and the squamous suture is between the parietal
and temporal bones. Finally, let’s check out the sutures on
the skull’s inferior aspect, which number 6. There’s the petro-occipital, spheno-occipital,
median palatine, transverse palatine, and petrotympanic sutures. The petro-occipital
suture connects the occipital bone and the petrous part of the temporal bone. The spheno-occipital
suture is found between the sphenoid bone and the occipital bone. The median palatine
suture runs between the horizontal plates of the palatine bones. The transverse palatine
suture runs between the palatine process of the maxillary bone and the palatine bone.
Finally, the petrotympanic suture is located between the temporomandibular joint and the
tympanic cavity.