The dermatocranium is the portion of the

cranium The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

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 ...

, which are composed of endochondral bone. The dermatocranium comprises the skull roof, 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 neurocranium. In human anatomy and development, the facial skeleton is sometimes called the ''membranous visc ...

(usually excluding the

dentary In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone ...

), and—in fishes—the opercular bones.

References

Human anatomy Vertebrate anatomy {{musculoskeletal-stub