also: とうがい
Anatomical term for the bony structure of the head. In everyday language, 頭蓋骨 (ずがいこつ) is also common.
Check the CT image of the cranium.
The skull protects the brain.
skull; cranium
intracranial; endocranial
extracranial
craniology
trepanation; cranial perforation
craniopagus parasiticus
idiopathic intracranial hypertension; benign intracranial hypertension; pseudotumor cerebri
Standard kanji spelling for the anatomical term 'cranium'.
Alternate reading; ずがい is far more common in modern Japanese.
From 頭 (head) and 蓋 (lid, cover), literally 'head cover'. The reading ずがい is the standard Sino-Japanese reading of the characters.