USES OP THE SKULL 235 



upper part of the cheek. Another pair, the nasals, form 

 the front and sides of the nose, while between these is a 

 partition formed by a single bone, the vomer. The other 

 paired bones of the face are: (a) The maxillce or upper jaw 

 bones which carry the upper teeth and form most of the 

 hard palate. This palate separates the nasal cavity from 

 the mouth cavity. (&) Back of these maxillae are a pair 

 of bones which complete the hard palate and are called the 

 palate bones, (c) Two small, thin bones, which form the 

 part of the eye socket nearest the nose, are called the lach- 

 rymal or tear bones, (d) The inferior turbinate bones, or 

 the spongy bones which lie on the inside of the nose, 

 form the outer wall of each nasal chamber. 



A single large bone, the mandible, forms the lower jaw, 

 and completes the list of face bones. 



Besides these bones of the face and cranium, there are 

 in the ear of the human being, three small, separate bones 

 known from their shape as the hammer, the anvil, and the 

 stirrup bone. Another separate bone, the hyoid, forms 

 the support for the base of the tongue. The mandible is 

 the only movable bone of the skull, all the others being 

 dovetailed together by teethlike projections (sutures) into 

 one rigid structure. 



Uses of the skull. — This rigid box with its rounded 

 surface forms an ideal protection for the deUcate brain. 

 The major part of the nose and ears is made of flexible 

 cartilage, thus protecting these projecting parts from 

 injury by blows. The sockets' that hold the eyes are of 

 just the right depth to catch a blow upon the frontal and 

 malar bone without allowing it to strike the eye, while 

 the delicate parts of the inner ear are protected by being 

 placed in cavities in the temporal bone. The opening at 



