The Probert Encyclopaedia of Medicine

OCCIPITAL BONE

The occipital bone forms the back of the skull and the cranial base. It is joined to the two parietal bones and to the mastoid processes of the temporal bones on the side by the lambdoid suture. At the base of the occipital bone, at the basilar parts, the
occipital bone is attached to the sphenoid bone. The occipital bone features a significant bump, or external occipital protuberance, in the center of the back of the skull, while the Nuchal line defines the cusp at which the occipital bone curves under to the base. The large opening, or foramen magnum, in the
occipital bone can be seen in the inferior view of the skull, and allows the nerves of the upper spinal cord to pass through the skull between the brain and the rest of the spinal cord.
Research Occipital Bone