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Article Three
It describes five bones pertaining to the base and walls of the human head.
O Noble One! Know that anatomists have said: In addition to the aforementioned bones of the human head, there are five more bones. Four of these function like side walls (cidrân), while one serves as a foundation (kaide) for their stabilization. The four lateral bones were created stronger than the cranial bones—that is, the fontanelles, or frontal bone—because it has been observed that impacts and falls most frequently occur upon them.
The cranial bones, particularly the fontanelles, are made softer to allow the humors accumulated in the brain to exit through the bone without weighing down the brain. However, the foremost bone is the frontal bone, whose upper boundary is the coronal suture (derz-i iklîl); its lower portion extends from the coronal suture, passing over the eyelid and above the eye, meeting on the other side at the end of the coronal suture. There are two walls like bones on the right and left upon which the ears are situated. They are solid to protect the sense of hearing, so they are also called “stone-like bones” (hacreteyn). Upon the bases of these stone-like bones, two curved cartilages in the shape of pearl shells have been created. Thus, sounds reaching them combine with air and travel through channels to reach the hearing person. These are called ears.
The boundary of each stone-like bone is the temporal suture (derz-i kışrî) from above; its lower boundary ends where the sutura emerges from the front of the temporal suture and joins with the lambdoid sutura from behind. Its boundaries in front are part of the temporal suture, and from behind, a portion of the lambdoid sutura. The boundary of the final bone is shared between the head and the vertex (veted) from above by the laminal suture (derz-i lâmî), uniting the two sides of the laminal suture. It is that bone which carries the brain and bears the bones mentioned; it is called the vertex (vetedî). Its firmness has two benefits. One, it aids in carrying the heavy skull. Two, by being firm, it does not accept putrid excesses. For this bone lies beneath the excesses, and the excesses are always poured upon it. Therefore, it must be firm. There are two hard bones on either side of the temples (sadak) that cover the nerves passing through the temple. The aforementioned two bones extend obliquely (mü’erreb) along the two temples—that is, they are situated there. They are called “paired.”
We praise and glorify the Exalted Creator who has created and operates all of this perfectly.