crania

Noun

cranium (plural craniums or crania)

1. That part of the skull consisting of the bones enclosing the brain, but not including the bones of the face or jaw.
   • The Skull is divided into two parts, the Cranium and the Face. The Cranium is composed of eight bones; […]1858, Henry Gray, “The Skull”, in Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical, page 19

   Synonyms:

   braincase, neurocranium

2. (informal) The upper portion of the skull, including the neurocranium and facial bones, but not including the jawbone (mandible).
   • In this study, the cranium recovered from the River Witham in Lincoln exhibited a black metallic staining on the surfaces of the teeth.2014, Emma L. Brown, Ronald A. Dixon, Jason W. Birkett, “The Discolouration of Human Teeth from Archaeological Contexts: Elemental Analysis of a Black Tooth from a Roman Cranium Recovered from the...
3. (informal) Synonym of skull.

   Synonyms:

   skull