Journal of Developmental Biology Review The Skull’s Girder: A Brief Review of the Cranial Base Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan 1,2 and Eric Van Otterloo 1,3,4,* 1 Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;
[email protected] 2 Department of Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA 3 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA 4 Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The cranial base is a multifunctional bony platform within the core of the cranium, spanning rostral to caudal ends. This structure provides support for the brain and skull vault above, serves as a link between the head and the vertebral column below, and seamlessly integrates with the facial skeleton at its rostral end. Unique from the majority of the cranial skeleton, the cranial base develops from a cartilage intermediate—the chondrocranium—through the process of endochondral ossification. Owing to the intimate association of the cranial base with nearly all aspects of the head, congenital birth defects impacting these structures often coincide with anomalies of the cranial base. Despite this critical importance, studies investigating the genetic control of cranial base development and associated disorders lags in comparison to other craniofacial structures. Here, we highlight and review developmental and genetic aspects of the cranial base, including its transition from cartilage to bone, dual embryological origins, and vignettes of transcription factors controlling its formation.