Mxsmanic <
[email protected]> wrote in message news:<
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> fergal writes:
>
> > yes, but I don't mean the bones itself but the tissue the bones are attached to
> > i.e. the ligament attachments from the sphenoid that help support the dura
>
> What's the exact defect or injury we are talking about here? A free-floating sphenoid bone?
>
possibly yes but also the ligamentous attachments throughout the cranial vault
> Anyway, in the absence of mechanical stress (blows or other rapid accelerations), it may not
> matter, just as fractures in some other bones and parts of the body may not even be obvious
> unless mechanical stress is applied, because their natural tendency is to remain in the correct
> position, anyway.
> > that would depend on which portion of the skull it was, wouldn't it ?
>
> I suppose there are portions of the skull that might tend to come apart if fractured, although
> nothing springs to mind. A bone that is not firmly attached to its neighboring skeletal structure
> in the usual way but is nevertheless maintained in its place by soft tissue and/or natural forces
> (no gravity or other stress pushing it out of place) would not necessarily be the kiss of death.
> So cracking the skull in two halves would be dangerous because mechanical forces would tend to
> open the skull, but removing a small square for surgery and then replacing it isn't necessarily a
> problem as long as nothing applies stress directly to the separated section until it heals again.