Occipital bone
Os occipitale
SkeletalSkeletonHead
- What it is
- The back and base of the skull: a curved squama with the external occipital protuberance, cupping the cerebellum, and a base pierced by the foramen magnum with the occipital condyles on either side.
- Function
- Protects the occipital lobes and cerebellum and articulates with the atlas to carry the head.
- Size
- Foramen magnum ≈ 35 × 30 mm at y 1.578
- Clinical note
- The spinal cord becomes the medulla oblongata as it passes up through the foramen magnum.