 the occipital bone , a saucer-shaped membrane bone situated at the back and lower part of the skull, is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself. it is pierced by a large oval opening, the foramen magnum, through which the cranial cavity communicates with the vertebral canal. * the curved, expanded plate behind the foramen magnum is named the squama occipitalis. * the thick, somewhat quadrilateral piece in front of the foramen is called the basilar part of occipital bone, - the basioccipital. * on either side of the foramen are the lateral parts of occipital bone, -the exoccipitals. ==structure== the occipital, like the other cranial has outer and inner tables, between which is the cancellous tissue or diploÃ«; the bone is especially thick at the ridges, protuberances, condyles, and anterior part of the basilar part; in the inferior fossÃ¦ it is thin, semitransparent, and destitute of diploÃ«.  === foramen magnum ===  the foramen magnum (latin for large hole) is a large oval aperture with its long diameter antero-posterior; it is wider behind than in front where it is encroached upon by the condyles . it transmits the medulla oblongata and its membranes, the accessory nerves, the vertebral arteries, the anterior and posterior spinal arteries, and the membrana tectoria and alar ligaments . === angles === the superior angle of the occipital bone articulates with the occipital angles of the parietal bones and, in the fetal skull, corresponds in position with the posterior fontanelle. the inferior angle is fused with the body of the sphenoid. the lateral angles are situated at the extremities of the grooves for the transverse sinuses: each is received into the interval between the mastoid angle of the parietal and the mastoid part of the temporal. === borders === the superior borders extend from the superior to the lateral angles: they are deeply serrated for articulation with the occipital borders of the parietals, and form by this union the lambdoidal suture. the inferior borders extend from the lateral angles to the inferior angle; the upper half of each articulates with the mastoid portio
Bones_of_the_head_and_neck