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The Skull’s Girder: A Brief Review of the Cranial Base
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The Skull’s Girder: A Brief Review of the Cranial Base

Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan and Eric Van Otterloo
Journal of developmental biology, Vol.9(1), pp.1-17
01/23/2021
DOI: 10.3390/jdb9010003
PMCID: PMC7838769
PMID: 33498686
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/jdb9010003View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The cranial base is a multifunctional bony platform within the core of the cranium, spanning rostral to caudal ends. This structure provides support for the brain and skull vault above, serves as a link between the head and the vertebral column below, and seamlessly integrates with the facial skeleton at its rostral end. Unique from the majority of the cranial skeleton, the cranial base develops from a cartilage intermediate—the chondrocranium—through the process of endochondral ossification. Owing to the intimate association of the cranial base with nearly all aspects of the head, congenital birth defects impacting these structures often coincide with anomalies of the cranial base. Despite this critical importance, studies investigating the genetic control of cranial base development and associated disorders lags in comparison to other craniofacial structures. Here, we highlight and review developmental and genetic aspects of the cranial base, including its transition from cartilage to bone, dual embryological origins, and vignettes of transcription factors controlling its formation.
 cranial base craniofacial endochondral mesoderm neural crest Review

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