Parietal bone

Last revised by Joachim Feger on 11 May 2024

The parietal bone is a paired, irregular, quadrilateral skull bone that forms the sides and roof of the cranium

The parietal bone has four borders, four angles, and external/internal surfaces.

The four borders are:

  • frontal

  • sagittal

  • occipital (half of lambdoid suture)

  • squamous temporal

The four angles are:

  • sphenoid

  • mastoid

  • occipital

  • frontal

The external surface is convex and smooth and has several features:

  • parietal eminence

  • superior temporal line for attachment of the temporalis fascia

  • inferior temporal lines for attachment of temporalis muscle

  • parietal foramen contains an emissary vein to the superior sagittal sinus

The internal surface is concave and contains grooves for the middle meningeal vessels and the sagittal sulcus.

The parietal bone articulates with five other bones:

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