CRANIUM (crania)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: crania   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cranium mean? 

• CRANIUM (noun)
  The noun CRANIUM has 1 sense:

1. the part of the skull that encloses the brain

  Familiarity information: CRANIUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRANIUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The part of the skull that encloses the brain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

braincase; brainpan; cranium

Hypernyms ("cranium" is a kind of...):

bone; os (rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates)

Meronyms (parts of "cranium"):

occipital bone (a saucer-shaped membrane bone that forms the back of the skull)

foramen magnum (the large opening at the base of the cranium through which the spinal cord passes)

fontanel; fontanelle; soft spot (any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus)

interparietal suture; sagittal suture; sutura sagittalis (the suture uniting the two parietal bones)

parietomastoid suture (the suture between the parietal and the temporal bones)

occipitomastoid suture (the suture between the occipital and the temporal bones; a continuation of the lamboid suture)

lamboid suture; sutura lamboidea (the suture between the occipital and parietal bones)

frontal suture; sutura frontalis (the suture between two halves of the frontal bone (usually obliterated by the age of 6))

coronal suture; sutura coronalis (the suture between the parietal and frontal bones of the skull)

asterion (the craniometric point at the junction of the lamboid suture and the occipitomastoid suture and the parietomastoid suture)

parietal bone (either of two skull bones between the frontal and occipital bones and forming the top and sides of the cranium)

forehead; frontal bone; os frontale (the large cranial bone forming the front part of the cranium: includes the upper part of the orbits)

calvaria; skullcap (the dome of the skull)

os temporale; temporal bone (a thick bone forming the side of the human cranium and encasing the inner ear)

ethmoid; ethmoid bone (one of the eight bones of the cranium; a small bone filled with air spaces that forms part of the eye sockets and the nasal cavity)

stephanion (the craniometric point on the coronal suture above the acoustic meatus)

Holonyms ("cranium" is a part of...):

skull (the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates)

Derivation:

cranial (of or relating to the cranium which encloses the brain)

 Context examples 

Traumatic injuries involving the cranium and intracranial structures (i.e., BRAIN; CRANIAL NERVES; MENINGES; and other structures).

(Head Injury, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Outside of the cranium (bones that surround the brain).

(Extracranial, NCI Dictionary)

One of two vessels (anterior or posterior) carrying oxygenated blood to areas in the cranium, sinuses and nasal regions.

(Ethmoidal Artery, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare neoplastic syndrome characterized by the presence of unilateral lipomas of the cranium, face and neck, and ipsilateral cerebral malformations.

(Encephalocraniocutaneous Lipomatosis, NCI Thesaurus)

Situated or occurring within the cranium; affecting or involving intracranial structures.

(Intracranial, NCI Thesaurus)

A congenital or acquired aneurysm within the cranium.

(Intracranial Aneurysm, NCI Thesaurus)

The upper jawbone in vertebrates; it is fused to the cranium.

(Maxilla, NCI Thesaurus)

A malignant germ cell tumor that affects the structures within the cranium.

(Malignant Intracranial Germ Cell Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign or malignant neoplasm that arises from or metastasizes to structures within the cranium.

(Intracranial Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by bleeding from the cranium.

(Intracranial Hemorrhage, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)