Nature's Helmet
Description: Some of the main parts of the skull are shown here.
Image copyright: http://library.thinkquest.org
I begin as many bones, but fuse into one. The parts don't totally fuse together until my owner is about 14 months old. My parts are very strong because I have a very important job and that is to protect the brain. Other things under my control is the shape of your face. Although my joints are immovable, I am really made up of 22 parts. 8 of these bones protect the brain and 13 of them create the facial structure, making the area to hold the eyes and giving the jaw it's shape. The only moving part of me is the jaw or scientifically called...the mandible. Some of the commonly known parts of me are the frontal bone, the parietal bones, the occipital bone, The other parts I work most closely with are the vertebrae which hold me up and allow me to move, and the brain which it is my life long goal to keep safe from harm.
HEALTH:
There are a few common problems that arise when it comes to being me. One very common problem is a concussion. If I get hit too hard and the brain that I am protecting gets knocked around inside me it can be damaged. Every year more than 400,000 kids are sent to the emergency room because the brain hits the inside of the skull. Usually people recover from concussions just fine
Another issue that is much more rare is Crouzon syndrome. That is when the bones of the skull fuse together too early in life . Crouzon syndrome is a genetic disorder of Chromosome 10. In the United States it is estimated to affect 1 per 60,000 live births. Crouzon syndrome affects individuals of all ethnic backgrounds. It may be inherited or it may occur spontaneously. Things that this syndrome can cause are misshapen heads, eye sockets or ear sockets.The only way to treat it is to have surgery to reshape the head.
One way to keep the skull healthy is to drink lots of milk to keep bones strong and also wear a helmet to give extra protection to the skull and brain when doing certain activities like , bike riding, skiing, football, and other high impact sports.
