Perietal Bone

The parietal bones are a pair of bones that are located, from an internal perspective, over the brain’s parietal lobe, and, from an external perspective, at the top and sides of the rear portion of the head.

Like most bones the main function of the parietal bone is to provide support and protection to vital organs and systems. The interior of the parietal bone has groves through which the major arteries supplying oxygen and nutrients to the brain may safely pass through.

The parietal bones form the roof and sides of the cranium or skull. The function of these bones is to provide part of the protective housing for the brain. Without the barrier that the skull provides, people would incur brain damage much more easily.

Old and new data on the size of the human parietal bone are presented. Attention is drawn to zonal changes in the configuration of the bones, particularly in fetuses and newborn babies, that almost certainly indicate phasic variations in the growth rate of the baby, and it is suggested that the estimation of the size of the bone where these abnormal zones occur may be a guide as to the intrauterine age of the child when the alteration in growth occurred.

Parietal bone size could also be a help in describing local and general skeletal dysplasias.