Anatomy quizzes › Skull Anatomy

Skull Anatomy Quiz

Fourteen questions on the bones of the skull, the sutures that stitch them together and the holes that let things through. Tap an answer to see if you’re right.

  1. Question 1 of 14

    Name the highlighted bone.

    Front view
    1. Mandible
    2. Maxilla
    3. Hyoid bone
    4. Zygomatic bone
    Show answer

    Answer: Mandible. The lower jaw: the largest, strongest facial bone and the only skull bone you can move (ear ossicles aside).

  2. Question 2 of 14

    How many bones make up the adult skull, by the usual count?

    1. 29
    2. 14
    3. 8
    4. 22
    Show answer

    Answer: 22. 22: 8 cranial and 14 facial bones. Count the six ear ossicles and the hyoid too and you get 29.

  3. Question 3 of 14

    Which of these is NOT one of the eight cranial bones?

    1. Ethmoid
    2. Occipital
    3. Maxilla
    4. Sphenoid
    Show answer

    Answer: Maxilla. The maxilla is a facial bone. The cranial bones are the frontal, two parietals, two temporals, occipital, sphenoid and ethmoid.

  4. Question 4 of 14

    The pituitary gland sits in the sella turcica of which bone?

    1. Occipital
    2. Sphenoid
    3. Temporal
    4. Ethmoid
    Show answer

    Answer: Sphenoid. The sphenoid, the butterfly-shaped bone at the centre of the skull base. ‘Sella turcica’ means Turkish saddle.

  5. Question 5 of 14

    Which bone contains the foramen magnum, where the spinal cord leaves the skull?

    1. Temporal
    2. Occipital
    3. Parietal
    4. Sphenoid
    Show answer

    Answer: Occipital. The occipital bone, at the back and base of the skull. ‘Foramen magnum’ simply means ‘big hole’.

  6. Question 6 of 14

    Which suture runs between the two parietal bones?

    1. Squamous suture
    2. Coronal suture
    3. Sagittal suture
    4. Lambdoid suture
    Show answer

    Answer: Sagittal suture. The sagittal suture runs front to back along the top of the head. Fused too early, the skull grows long and narrow (scaphocephaly).

  7. Question 7 of 14

    Which suture joins the frontal bone to the parietal bones?

    1. Coronal suture
    2. Metopic suture
    3. Sagittal suture
    4. Lambdoid suture
    Show answer

    Answer: Coronal suture. The coronal suture, running ear to ear across the top of the head, roughly where a tiara would sit.

  8. Question 8 of 14

    A blow to the pterion, the thin spot on the side of the skull, can tear which artery?

    1. Superficial temporal artery
    2. Internal carotid artery
    3. Vertebral artery
    4. Middle meningeal artery
    Show answer

    Answer: Middle meningeal artery. The middle meningeal artery runs just inside the pterion. Tearing it causes an extradural haematoma: someone can seem fine at first, then get worse quickly.

  9. Question 9 of 14

    Which bone houses the middle and inner ear?

    1. Temporal bone
    2. Sphenoid bone
    3. Occipital bone
    4. Parietal bone
    Show answer

    Answer: Temporal bone. The petrous part of the temporal bone, one of the densest bones in the body, protects the ossicles, cochlea and balance organs.

  10. Question 10 of 14

    Smell nerve fibres pass through the cribriform plate of which bone?

    1. Nasal
    2. Sphenoid
    3. Frontal
    4. Ethmoid
    Show answer

    Answer: Ethmoid. The ethmoid. A fracture here can cause a CSF leak from the nose and loss of smell.

  11. Question 11 of 14

    By what age has the anterior fontanelle (the ‘soft spot’) usually closed?

    1. Around 5 years
    2. Around 6 months
    3. Around 18 months
    4. Around 6 weeks
    Show answer

    Answer: Around 18 months. Usually between 12 and 24 months, often around 18. The smaller posterior fontanelle closes much earlier, by about 2 months.

  12. Question 12 of 14

    What is the cheekbone called?

    1. Lacrimal bone
    2. Zygomatic bone
    3. Sphenoid
    4. Maxilla
    Show answer

    Answer: Zygomatic bone. The zygomatic bone. It joins the temporal bone to form the zygomatic arch you can feel in front of your ear.

  13. Question 13 of 14

    Which bone holds the largest of the paranasal sinuses?

    1. Maxilla
    2. Ethmoid
    3. Sphenoid
    4. Frontal bone
    Show answer

    Answer: Maxilla. The maxillary sinus, in the cheek. Its roots sit close to the upper teeth, so sinusitis can feel like toothache.

  14. Question 14 of 14

    The jaw joint (TMJ) is between the mandible and which bone?

    1. Zygomatic bone
    2. Maxilla
    3. Sphenoid
    4. Temporal bone
    Show answer

    Answer: Temporal bone. The temporomandibular joint: the mandible’s condyle sits in a hollow of the temporal bone, just in front of the ear.

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Common questions

How many bones are in the skull?

Usually counted as 22: 8 cranial bones (frontal, 2 parietal, 2 temporal, occipital, sphenoid, ethmoid) and 14 facial bones (2 nasal, 2 maxillae, 2 zygomatic, mandible, 2 palatine, 2 lacrimal, 2 inferior nasal conchae and the vomer). Some counts add the 6 ear ossicles and the hyoid.

What are the main sutures of the skull?

The coronal (frontal to parietal bones), sagittal (between the parietals), lambdoid (parietals to occipital) and squamous (parietal to temporal) sutures. In babies they’re flexible, which helps the head through birth and lets the brain grow.

What is the pterion and why does it matter?

The H-shaped spot on the side of the skull where the frontal, parietal, temporal and sphenoid bones meet. The bone is thin there, and the middle meningeal artery runs just inside, so a blow can cause an extradural haematoma.

When do a baby’s fontanelles close?

The posterior fontanelle usually closes by about 2 months. The anterior fontanelle closes between about 12 and 24 months. A doctor should check a fontanelle that bulges, sinks or closes very early.

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Reviewed 8 November 2026 by a Malady Wise GP. Diagrams are simplified, original sketches, not to scale. General education, not personal medical advice.