cranial

American  

[krey-nee-uhl] / ˈkreɪ ni əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the cranium or skull.

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cranial British  

/ ˈkreɪnɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the skull

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cranial Scientific  

/ krā′nē-əl /

1. Located in or involving the skull or cranium.

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Other Word Forms

• cranially adverb
• intercranial adjective
• precranial adjective
• precranially adverb
• subcranial adjective
• subcranially adverb

Etymology

Origin of cranial

First recorded in 1790–1800; crani(um) + -al ¹

Explanation

Something that's cranial has to do with your skull. A severe cranial injury requires testing to make sure you don't have a concussion. Your cranium is your skull — the hard bone that encloses and protects your brain. Things that are cranial are connected to this part of your body — the cranial space is the area inside your skull, and cranial nerves are connected to your brain. The Greek root of both cranium and cranial is kranion, "skull" or "upper part of the head."

Example Sentences

Following the surgery, Mr Coles, who was 66, was unable to swallow due to cranial nerve damage.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2025

For those who do survive, he added, 50 percent of them are left with long-term physical or mental impairments, running the gambit from intellectual disability, seizures, paralysis and cranial nerve dysfunction.

From Salon • Aug. 29, 2024

They discovered a vascular tumor the size of a golf ball pressing on her brain stem and entangled in blood vessels and cranial nerves.

From Seattle Times • May 13, 2024

Among the known drainage routes are lymphatic vessels around the cranial nerves and the upper region of the nasal cavity.

From Science Daily • Jan. 26, 2024

Hugh told me that I was wasting my time, that they were looking for people who'd bought platinum watches, not rusted cranial saws.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris