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

More than 300 Native American remains in the Morton Cranial Collection still need to be repatriated through the federal law.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2024

Cranial and dental morphologies also confirmed the identity of this skull as the modern species Hippopotamus amphibius.

From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2023

Cranial surgery without modern anesthesia and antibiotics may sound like a death sentence.

From Science Magazine • Jun. 8, 2018

An olfactory receptors neuron sends an impulse via Cranial nerve I the olfactory nerve.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

With respect to the "Cranial forms of the American aborigines," see Dr. Aitken Meigs in 'Proc.

From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles