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The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Head

Parietal bone os parietale

The parietal bone is the bone on the top of the head, which covers the brain. Along its middle, in many breeds, is a crest to which the temporalis muscle attaches.

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.
  1. Parietal bone
  2. Frontal bone
  3. Occipital bone
  4. Temporal bone
  5. External sagittal crest
Parietal bone on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The roof of the braincase, between the frontal and the occipital bone.

System
Axial skeleton
Region
Head

What it is and what it does

The parietal bones, joined on the midline, form most of the roof of the cranial cavity; they lie above the temporal bone, between the frontal and the occipital bone. In the dog, where the two bones meet, a prominent parietal crest rises and continues onto the frontals: the sagittal crest of the skeleton layer, to which the temporalis muscle attaches.

Worth remembering

The crest on the top of the head can be felt under the skin in breeds with powerful jaw muscles.

Names

  • Latin term: os parietale.
  • In Romanian: Osul parietal (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Head

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton