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The bones of the head and neck play the vital role of supporting the brain,
sensory organs, nerves, and blood vessels of the head and protecting these
structures from mechanical damage. Movements of these bones by the
attached muscles of the head help us to produce facial expressions, eat,
speech, and move our head. The skull consists of 22 cranial and facial
bones, which, with the exception of the mandible, are tightly fused together.
The skull encases and protects the brain as well as the special sense organs
of vision, hearing, balance, taste and smell. Attachment points for the
muscles of the head and neck are located on the exterior surfaces of the
skull and allow us to perform important movements like chewing, speech,
and facial expressions. Teeth are rooted into deep sockets in the mandible
and maxillary bones. The upper portions of the digestive and respiratory
tracts are also housed within the hollow oral and nasal cavities of the skull.
Another important bone of the head and neck is the hyoid bone. The hyoid
is closely associated with the skull but is a floating bone that does not
form a joint with any other bone. It anchors muscles of the tongue and
throat and holds open the larynx of the respiratory tract. The auditory
ossicles (malleus, incus, and stapes) of each ear are also bones in the head
separate from the skull. They form a bridge connecting the eardrum to the
inner ear and function to transmit vibrations between these parts. The 7
cervical vertebrae form the bones of the neck that support the skull and
organs of the head. The first cervical vertebra (atlas) supports and balances
the head. The second vertebra (axis) allows the head to rotate laterally to
the left and the right. Hollow spaces within the cervical vertebrae protect
and conduct the spinal cord and vertebral arteries through the neck. Muscle
attachment sites on the cervical vertebrae provide movement and posture
to the head and neck.