Cranial and Facial Bones Quiz

Put your hand directly on your forehead. Which cranial bone are you touching?

Answer explanation

By placing your hand on your forehead, you are touching the frontal bone, which is the bone that forms the forehead and the upper part of the eye sockets.

Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and walk it back the hard palate. Right before the hard palate becomes soft palate, which facial bones is your tongue touching?

Answer explanation

Your tongue touches the palatine bones right before the hard palate transitions to the soft palate. These bones form part of the roof of the mouth and are located at the back of the oral cavity.

Feel the bones that make up the bridge of your nose. Maybe you’ve broken them before! Which facial bones are these?

Answer explanation

The bones that form the bridge of your nose are the nasal bones. These two small, rectangular bones are located at the upper-middle part of the face and are crucial for the structure of the nose.

If you were to poke your fingers directly through your eyeballs until you hit bone, which bone would you hit first?

Answer explanation

Poking through the eyeball would first reach the sphenoid bone, The eye is surrounded by several bones, but the sphenoid bone is the first encountered when you go through the orbital region.

Ew! If you stuck your finger deep into your nasal cavity you’d feel these tiny projections on the walls of the nasal cavity. Which facial bones make up the lowest of these projections?

Answer explanation

The tiny projections in the nasal cavity are called the conchae or turbinates. The lowest of these projections are formed by the inferior nasal conchae, which are separate facial bones that help warm and humidify the air we breathe.

Put your hand on the back of your head where your skull attaches to your neck. Which cranial bone are you touching?

Answer explanation

You are touching the occipital bone, which is located at the back of the skull and connects to the neck. This bone forms the base of the skull and houses the foramen magnum, where the spinal cord passes through.

Put your thumb on the big bump behind your ear. Which cranial bone are you touching?

Answer explanation

You are touching the mastoid process of the temporal bone, which is the prominent bump located just behind the ear.

Your nasal cavity is broken into two separate sides by a wall called a septum. Which facial bone makes up the bottom portion of the septum?

Answer explanation

The bottom portion of the nasal septum is formed by the vomer bone. This bone helps separate the nasal cavity into two sides, playing a crucial role in the structure of the nasal passages.

Move the only movable bone of your face. Which facial bone is it?

Answer explanation

The only movable bone of your face is the mandible, or jawbone. It allows for movement necessary for chewing and speaking, distinguishing it from other facial bones that are fixed.

Put your fingers on the lateral wall of your orbit (eye socket). Move your fingers down to feel your cheekbones as well. Which facial bones are you touching?

Answer explanation

You are touching the zygomatic bones (cheekbones) and the lateral walls of the orbits, which are part of the facial skeleton. These bones provide structure and support to the face.