Head and neck anatomy
The head and neck are the top of the body. Of the 22 bones of the skull, eight cranial bones enclose the brain and fourteen facial bones frame the face, and in the neck seven cervical vertebrae carry the head, with the hyoid bone in front. The trachea and oesophagus run down the front of the neck, and the common carotid arteries on either side carry blood up towards the head.
Frequently asked questions
How many bones are in the skull?
The skull has 22 bones: eight cranial bones around the brain and fourteen facial bones. Only the mandible moves at a joint; the others are locked together at sutures.
How many neck vertebrae are there, and what do they do?
There are seven cervical vertebrae. The atlas (C1) forms a joint with the occipital bone where the head nods, and it turns around the dens of the axis (C2) when the head turns side to side.
Where is the jaw joint?
The temporomandibular joint lies just in front of each ear, where the mandible meets the temporal bone. It moves whenever the mouth opens, closes or chews.
Organs of the head and neck
Parts in the head and neck
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe
- Cerebellum
- Brainstem
- Trachea
- Oesophagus
- Common carotid arteries
Bones of the head and neck
- Frontal bone
- Parietal bone
- Temporal bone
- Occipital bone
- Sphenoid bone
- Maxilla
- Mandible
- Hyoid bone
- Atlas (C1)
- Axis (C2)
- Seventh cervical vertebra (C7)
Joints of the head and neck
Bone counts
Compare
Other regions
Read more
- The human skeleton in 3D
- BAHI BODY 3D human body
- Chronic Disease Is Systemic Breakdown: chapter summaries
- Blog
Related reading
- The glymphatic system: where the brain’s waste goes while we sleep
- Does sleeping in at the weekend pay back the week? Catch-up sleep and social jetlag
- ME/CFS: what research says about fatigue that rest doesn’t fix
- Coffee on an empty stomach after a broken night: what a study found about blood sugar
Once the 3D model loads you can turn it and select each part.