The parietal bones of the skull reside over the parietal lobes of the brain. The parietal lobe is just on top of the occipital lobe and is responsible for various sensory information processing. The parietal bones of the skull lie on either side of the head, slightly posterior to the ear area, and meet on top of the head.

The coronal suture is the area at the "top" of the skull where the parietal bones and the frontal bones meet, and is not normally closed at birth (thus, the traditional "soft spot" near the exact top of a newborn's head).

Remember that the coronal plane traverses the body from left to right, separating the anterior and posterior dimensions. As such, the coronal suture can be expected to fall within this plane.

The sphenoid bone, located posterior and inferior to the face, supports most of the immovable bones of the face and is thus critical to the development of facial structure. The bone also contains two "wing" projections that curve towards the sides of the skull, which may help to stabilize the cranium during lateral impacts, and the sella turcica, a concave space that houses the pituitary gland.

The parietal bones (one on each side of the skull) form a shield-shaped dome across the top of the skull, creating most of the bulging sides and top of the cranium. The parietal bones are useful in distinguishing the skulls of modern man from Australopithecine ancestors. The bone has a large opening, the parietal foramen, through which blood supply and nerves enter.

The occipital bone forms the base of the skull, and contains the opening (foramen magnum) through which the thick nerve fibers that will form the spinal cord emerge. It houses the occipital lobe of the cerebrum, which is responsible for visual processing and holds the visual cortex.

The temporal bones (one on each side) form the mandibular fossae, which join the mandible to stabilize the jaw. The bone also forms part of the prominence of the cheek, the meatus for neck and tongue muscles, and contains the gap through which the ear is formed.

The frontal bone forms the "forehead" and anterior part of the superior skull. It contains the roof of the nasal cavity, the roof of the orbital sockets, and in some skeletons shows a bony notch or supraforamen.

The lambdoid suture is located at the junction of the parietal and occipital bones. It lies just inferior the parietal bones and superior the occipital bone. It is located on the posterior or "back" of the skull.

The sphenoid bone contains important openings through which specific nerves pass, including foramen rotundum, foramen spinosum, and foramen ovale.

The hard palate is comprised of the maxillary and palatine bones. The anterior two-thirds is the palatine process of the maxillary bone, while the posterior one third is the horizontal plate of the palatine bone