Redirect 3.5% of your income tax to support us!

The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Head

External sagittal crest crista sagittalis externa

The sagittal crest is the ridge along the middle of the skull, between the two temporal fossae, up to the nape. Its size differs greatly between breeds.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
External sagittal crest on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The ridge along the middle of the skull, between the two temporal fossae, up to the occipital protuberance.

System
Axial skeleton
Region
Head

What it is and what it does

Present in carnivores, it varies greatly between breeds; part of the temporalis muscle arises from it. The more developed it is, the more attachment surface there is for the biting muscles.

Worth remembering

Part of the temporalis muscle attaches to it: the more developed it is, the more surface there is for the biting muscles.

Names

  • Latin term: crista sagittalis externa.
  • In Romanian: Creasta sagitală externă (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Head

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton