The bones of the |skull| feature a number of foramina (the plural of ~foramen~, meaning hole or opening). The |foramen magnum| is the largest of these. It is a round opening in the |occipital bone| at the base of the |skull| which allows the ~nerves~ of the upper |spinal cord| to pass through the |skull|. The next largest openings are the external auditory meati, which are tunnels through the |temporal bones| for the auditory canals. Other foramina include the supraorbital notches above each |orbit| in the |frontal bone| (supraorbital foramina), and the infraorbital foramina just below each |orbit| in the |maxilla|. Two more openings, one on each side of the |skull|, can be found in the frontal ~processes~ of the malar (zygomatic) bones, and are called, therefore, zygomaticofacial foramina. On each side of the |mandible|, just below the lower |canines|, are the mental foramina. These facial foramina allow ~blood~ vessels and ~nerves~ to pass into and through the bone.
