cra·ni·um (kr  n - m)n. pl. cra·ni·ums or cra·ni·a (-n -) 1. The skull of a vertebrate. 2. The portion of the skull enclosing the brain; the braincase. [Middle English craneum, from Medieval Latin cr nium, from Greek krnion; see ker-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
cranium [ˈkreɪnɪəm]
n pl -niums, -nia [-nɪə]
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) the skull of a vertebrate
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) the part of the skull that encloses the brain Nontechnical name brainpan
[from Medieval Latin crānium skull, from Greek kranion]
| cranium (krn-m) Plural craniums or crania The vertebrate skull, especially the part that encloses and protects the brain. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  cranium - the part of the skull that encloses the brainasterion - the craniometric point at the junction of the lamboid suture and the occipitomastoid suture and the parietomastoid suture stephanion - the craniometric point on the coronal suture above the acoustic meatus 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 os temporale, temporal bone - a thick bone forming the side of the human cranium and encasing the inner ear skull - the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates frontal bone, os frontale, forehead - the large cranial bone forming the front part of the cranium: includes the upper part of the orbits parietal bone - either of two skull bones between the frontal and occipital bones and forming the top and sides of the cranium occipital bone - a saucer-shaped membrane bone that forms the back of the skull coronal suture, sutura coronalis - the suture between the parietal and frontal bones of the skull frontal suture, sutura frontalis - the suture between two halves of the frontal bone (usually obliterated by the age of 6) lamboid suture, sutura lamboidea - the suture between the occipital and parietal bones occipitomastoid suture - the suture between the occipital and the temporal bones; a continuation of the lamboid suture parietomastoid suture - the suture between the parietal and the temporal bones interparietal suture, sagittal suture, sutura sagittalis - the suture uniting the two parietal bones fontanel, fontanelle, soft spot - any membranous gap between the bones of the cranium in an infant or fetus foramen magnum - the large opening at the base of the cranium through which the spinal cord passes |
Translations
cranium
n pl <crania> (Anat) → Schädel m, → Cranium nt (spec)
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