Preferred Label : neurocranium;
Uberon definition : Subdivision of skeletal system that surrounds and protects the brain. Includes the
skull base, sensory capsules and the central part of the skull roof.;
Uberon synonym : brain box;
Uberon related term : brain pan; brain case; braincase;
Uberon Development note : The cartilaginous parts of the neurocranium undergo endochondral ossification in most
species; ossification has been lost in cartilaginous fishes, but the cartilaginous
condition of the skull of lampreys is considered to be primitive (Kardong, 1995)[PMID:11523816].
The neurocranium arises from paraxial mesoderm in the head (first five somites and
the unsegmented somitomeres rostral to the first somite) and from ectoderm via the
neural crest. In Chondrichthyes and other cartilaginous vertebrates this portion of
the cranium does not ossify; it is not replaced via endochondral ossification[WP].;
Uberon Structure note : It includes the following bones: Ethmoid bone, Frontal bone, Occipital bone, Parietal
bone, Sphenoid bone, Temporal bone. The term cranium can be ambiguous, in that it
can refer to the neurocranium, or the neurocranium and the Facial skeleton;
Origin ID : 0001703;
Automatic exact mappings (from CISMeF team)
- Uberon cross reference
- develops from
- has part
- part of
Subdivision of skeletal system that surrounds and protects the brain. Includes the
skull base, sensory capsules and the central part of the skull roof.
