The occiput forms the back of the head, it is its posterior and lower median part. It forms part of the occipital bone, a bone that is one of the eight bones that make up the skull and, connected to the top of the spine, it allows in particular to move the head from the bottom up, and also participates in the support of the head thanks to ligaments, as well as to the protection of the brain. In fact, it is the protruding part of the skull towards the back. It can, like the other bones of the body, be affected by bone diseases, tumors and lesions in particular, for which very often care or treatment exists.

The occiput is located in the posterior part of the head, towards the rear: it is the protruding posterior part of the skull. It is a piece of the occipital bone, this bone being one of the eight bones that make up the skull.

In fact, the occiput is the part of the skull which corresponds to the area of ​​the inion and to the vertical part of the scale of the occipital bone. The inion is a point located at the union of the lines of the neck (called nuchal lines, where muscles are inserted) upper right and left, at the base of the external occipital protuberance, that is to say the part of the skull that s ‘extends backwards.

The occiput is rather rounded, ovoid in shape. The occipital bone, to which the occiput belongs, makes up the base of the skull on the side of the neck, and includes a hole in its center that allows the beginning of the spine to pass through, where the spine is inserted.

Made up of bone material, the occipital bone is made up of:

• in its center: the foramen magnum, which is a large opening located in the lower part of the bone, where the spinal column is inserted;
• around it, sutures, which connect the occipital bone to other bones of the skull located next to it: they are called lambdoid sutures; they connect this occipital bone to the temporal bones and parietal bones. In addition, the occipital bone is also connected to the sphenoid bone, the cornerstone of the base of the skull because it articulates to all the bones of the skull and holds them in place, and to the atlas, the first vertebra of the spine;
• small convex surfaces, which lie on either side of the foramen magnum. Called occipital condyles, these surfaces articulating with the first cervical vertebra, called the atlas, thus form an articulation which allows the head to be moved up and down, as a sign of assent; 
• the hypoglossal nerve canal (ie, located under the tongue) is located in the underside of the skull, it is located just above the occipital condyle.
• the nuchal lines (of the neck), superior and inferior, allow the insertions of the muscles.

Head support

The occiput helps support the head. This support is made possible by a large ligament, fibrous and elastic: it extends from the external protuberance of the occiput to the seventh cervical vertebra.

Brain protection

Being part of the bones that make up the skull, the occiput participates in the protection of the brain, or encephalon, located inside these bones of the skull.

Three main types of bone disease can affect the occiput, these are lesions, tumors, or Paget’s disease:

Occiput lesions during shock

Like other bones in the body, the occiput can be damaged, during trauma and falls, which may or may not reach the brain. These are cracks if the impact is slight, and fractures when the impact is greater. When the brain is affected, it will be a brain trauma, which can have moderate consequences, and sometimes severe. Most head injuries are caused by traffic accidents. In prevention, the helmet is essential, especially on a motorcycle or bicycle.

Bone tumors

Among the pathologies that can affect the bones, there are bone tumors, including spheno-occipital chordoma (a rare primary bone tumor, slow growing, but locally invasive, and whose metastases are rare and late). Bone involvement from a bone tumor can be either cartilage or bone origin.

Paget’s disease

Paget’s disease, a rare medical condition that mainly affects people over the age of 50, is linked to increased bone turnover. This disease can thus manifest as an enlargement of the skull. In addition, damage to the skull sometimes causes headaches.

Treatment of a head trauma

• Cranial trauma must be urgently taken care of by a neurosurgery service. As a first step, the patient must be woken up regularly to detect an extradural hematoma. In an emergency, the surgeon may decide to make a temporal hole. This will help decompress the brain. The patient will then be transferred to a specialized environment.
• Head trauma can, if necessary, subsequently, be the subject of an adapted rehabilitation, often in a rehabilitation center and specialized rehabilitation.

Treatment of tumors

• Regarding spheno-occipital chordoma, treatment is based on surgical resection, ie removing the tumor bone part.
• Regarding treatments with plants that can act against tumors: in terms of food supplement, mistletoe is the plant very often recommended in the treatment of cancer. Various studies tend to indicate that mistletoe extract reduces side effects and improves the quality of life of patients. In addition, mistletoe helps reduce fatigue while building patient resilience.

However, beware of the negative effects of long-term use of mistletoe on white blood cells, or T lymphocytes. In general, any treatment with plants must be subject to medical advice. In this case, mistletoe can lower blood pressure, and interact with medications for hypertension and cardiac arrhythmia.

Treatment of Paget’s disease

Most often, Paget’s disease is mild and progresses slowly. In the most painful forms, the treatment may include bisphosphonates and analgesics, to fight against the pain.

The diagnosis of bone abnormalities is mainly based on imaging techniques, supplemented by anatomo-pathology, which makes it possible in particular to assess the tumor character, in particular of the tissue taken (called biopsy), or medical biopsy analyzes.

• The diagnosis of crack or fracture will be confirmed by imaging, an x-ray of the skull, as well as a CT scan, or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to see if the brain is affected or not.
• The diagnosis of a bone tumor can be made via X-ray but also using a biopsy. Tumors, such as chordoma generally present with late symptoms (spheno-occipital chordoma is generally discovered around the age of 40, with an almost constant diagnostic delay. The CT scan makes it possible to observe tumor osteolysis, but also calcifications inside the tumor MRI allows you to see the extent of the tumor, which is essential for therapeutic management and the patient’s future prognosis.
• The diagnosis of Paget’s disease will be discovered through blood tests, x-rays or bone scans.