Inferior base of the skull - Landmarks - Colored (English)

The external surface of the occipital bone is defined by several well defined ridges and crests, namely the external occipital crest as well as the superior and inferior occipital lines. Also visible are the occipital condyles, which articulate with the atlas (vertebra C1). The temporal bone presents more prominent landmarks compared to its posterior neighbor, the largest of which being the mastoid, styloid and zygomatic processes. Important landmarks of the sphenoid bone from this perspective include pterygoid process (located centrally); this is formed of medial and lateral plates, the former of which bears a hooked shaped extremity known as the pterygoid hamulus. The horizontal plates of the palatine bones along with the palatine processes of the maxillae form the hard palate.