The dermatocranium is the portion of the

cranium The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, ...

that is composed of dermal bone, as opposed to the endocranium and

splanchnocranium The splanchnocranium (or visceral skeleton) is the portion of the cranium that is derived from pharyngeal arches. ''Splanchno'' indicates to the gut because the face forms around the mouth, which is an end of the gut. The splanchnocranium consists o ...

, which are composed of endochondral bone. The dermatocranium comprises the

skull roof The skull roof, or the roofing bones of the skull, are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes and all land-living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone and are part of the dermatocranium. In comparati ...

, the

facial skeleton The facial skeleton comprises the ''facial bones'' that may attach to build a portion of the skull. The remainder of the skull is the braincase. In human anatomy and development, the facial skeleton is sometimes called the ''membranous visceroc ...

(usually excluding the dentary), and—in fishes—the opercular bones.

References

Human anatomy Vertebrate anatomy {{musculoskeletal-stub