Chapter 2

Introduction to Brain Anatomy

Wieslaw L. Nowinski

2.1Introduction
The human central nervous system (CNS), having been evolved over the last 600
million years, is the most complex living organ in the known universe. It has been
extensively investigated over centuries, and a vast body of materials has been
gathered in the print form and more recently also in electronic format. Neuroanatomy
is presented in numerous textbooks [122], print brain atlases [2351], and electronic
brain atlases [5274]. Several textbooks combine text with atlases [14, 15, 43, 44],
and some provide neuroanatomy for various specialties including neurosurgery
[1,19, 22], neuroradiology [8, 17, 20], neurology [2], and neuroscience [18].
The comprehension of neuroanatomy is crucial in any neurosurgical, neuroradiological, neuro-oncological, or neurological procedure. Therefore, CNS anatomy
has been intensively studied by generations of neuroanatomists, neurosurgeons,
neurologists, neuroradiologists, neurobiologists, and psychologists, among others,
including Renaissance artists. This resulted, however, in neuroanatomy discrepancies, inconsistencies, and even controversies among various communities in terms
of parcellation, demarcation, grouping, terminology, and presentation.
The present work differs from existing neuroanatomy primers. Our overall objective
is to make the presentation of brain anatomy easy. To achieve this objective:
The presentation of neuroanatomy is in three dimensions (3D) with additional
supportive planar images in the orthogonal (axial, coronal, and sagittal) planes.
The brain is subdivided into structure, vasculature, and connections (white matter
tracts); consequently, we consider structural, vascular, and connectional neuro
anatomies.

W.L. Nowinski (*)

Biomedical Imaging Lab, ASTAR, Singapore
e-mail: [email protected]
K. Miller (ed.), Biomechanics of the Brain, Biological and Medical Physics,
Biomedical Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-9997-9_2,
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

W.L. Nowinski

3D cerebral models of structure, vasculature, and tracts are mutually consistent

because they were derived from the same brain specimen.
3D cerebral models and the planar images are fully parcellated; each parcellated
object is uniquely colored.
3D cerebral models and the planar images are completely labeled; as a terminology,
we use the Terminologia Anatomica [75].
3D cerebral models are electronically dissectible into groups and individual
components.
In this work, we use the digital brain atlases developed in our laboratory for
nearly 2decades [6369]. The 3D cerebral models have been created from multiple
3 and 7 Tesla magnetic resonance scans of the same brain specimen (WLN) [69].
The development of the atlases is addressed in [7680], tools for their development
in [81], techniques for modeling of cerebral structures in [76, 82, 83], and atlasbased applications in [7780, 8492].

2.2Structural (Gross) Neuroanatomy

We present parcellation of the brain in 3D followed by sectional neuroanatomy. The
stereotactic target structures and functional (Brodmanns) areas also are outlined.

2.2.1Brain Parcellation
The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The brain encases the fluid-filled
ventricular system and is parcellated into three main components (Fig.2.1a):
Cerebrum
Cerebellum (the little brain)
Brainstem
The cerebrum comprises:
Left and right cerebral hemispheres
Interbrain between the cerebrum and the brainstem termed the diencephalon
Deep gray nuclei
The cerebral hemispheres are the largest compartment of the brain and are interconnected by white matter fibers (see Sect.2.4.2). The hemispheres are composed of:
Outer gray matter termed the cerebral cortex
Inner white matter encompassing the deep gray nuclei

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

Fig.2.1 Gross anatomy of the left cerebral hemisphere: (a) brain parcellation; (b) lobes: lateral
view; (c) lobes: medial view

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.1 (continued)

The gray matter contains mainly nerve cell bodies, while the white matter is made
up predominantly of nerve fibers (axons). The cerebral cortex is highly convoluted.
The folds form gyri that are separated by grooves called sulci or fissures (deep
sulci). The cerebral hemispheres are parcellated into five lobes (Fig.2.1b, c):

Frontal lobe
Temporal lobe
Parietal lobe
Occipital lobe
Limbic lobe

The insula is sometimes classified as the central or insular lobe. The lobes are
partly demarcated by the sulci/fissures, Fig.2.1. The central sulcus separates the
frontal lobe anterior from the parietal lobe posterior, Fig.2.1b. The Sylvian (lateral)
fissure demarcates the temporal lobe below from the frontal and parietal lobes
above, Fig.2.1b. The parieto-occipital fissure separates the parietal lobe anterior
from the occipital lobe posterior, Fig. 2.1c. The cingulate sulcus separates the
frontal lobe above from the limbic lobe below, Fig.2.1c.
The diencephalon contains (Fig.2.1c):
Thalamus (see also Fig.2.6)
Subthalamus including the subthalamic nucleus (see Sect.2.2.6)
Hypothalamus (see also Fig.2.10a)

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

Fig.2.2 Cerebellum and brainstem: (a) cerebellum (medial view); (b) midbrain, pons, and medulla
of the brainstem (infero-anterior view)

The cerebellum is composed of (Fig.2.2a):

Left and right cerebellar hemispheres
Midline vermis which unites them
The brainstem is subdivided into (Fig.2.2b):
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla

10

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.3 Cortical areas of the left (L) hemisphere: lateral view. The orientation cube in the top-left
corner indicates the viewing direction (L left; R right; S superior (dorsal); I inferior (ventral);
A anterior; P posterior). Each gyrus is assigned a unique color

2.2.2Cortical Areas
The cortex has three surfaces: lateral, medial, and inferior (also called basal or
ventral). Moreover, the transitional areas form the frontal, temporal, and occipital
poles (see, e.g., Figs.2.5 and 2.27).
2.2.2.1Lateral Surface
Four lobes are present on the lateral surface: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital,
Fig.2.1b. The lateral surface of the frontal lobe is subdivided by three sulci (superior
frontal sulcus, inferior frontal sulcus, and precentral sulcus) into four gyri (Fig.2.3):

Superior frontal gyrus

Middle frontal gyrus
Inferior frontal gyrus
Precentral gyrus

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

11

The lateral surface of the temporal lobe is subdivided by two sulci (superior temporal
sulcus and inferior temporal sulcus) into three gyri (Fig.2.3):
Superior temporal gyrus
Middle temporal gyrus
Inferior temporal gyrus
The lateral surface of the parietal lobe is subdivided by the intraparietal sulcus
into three gyri (Fig.2.3):
Postcentral gyrus
Superior parietal gyrus (lobule)
Inferior parietal gyrus (lobule)
Supramarginal gyrus
Angular gyrus
The lateral surface of the occipital lobe is subdivided by two sulci (superior
occipitalsulcus and inferior occipital sulcus) into three gyri (Fig.2.3):
Superior occipital gyrus
Middle occipital gyrus
Inferior occipital gyrus
2.2.2.2Medial Surface
The frontal, parietal, occipital, and limbic lobes are present on the medial surface,
Fig.2.1c. The limbic lobe contains the gyri located at the inner edge (or limbus) of
the hemisphere including (Fig.2.4):

Subcallosal gyrus (areas)

Cingulate gyrus
Isthmus (of cingulate gyrus)
Parahippocampal gyrus

The superior frontal gyrus (separated from the limbic lobe by the cingulate sulcus, Fig.2.1c) occupies most of the medial surface of the frontal lobe, Fig.2.4. The
parietal lobe includes the precuneus, Fig.2.4 (separated from the occipital lobe by
the parieto-occipital fissure, Fig.2.1c). The occipital lobe comprises the cuneus and
the lingual gyrus, Fig.2.4.
2.2.2.3Inferior Surface
The inferior surface includes the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes. The frontal
lobe comprises (Fig.2.5):
Straight gyrus
Orbital gyri parcellated by the approximately H-shape sulcus into the anterior,
medial, lateral, and posterior orbital gyri

Fig.2.4 Cortical areas of the left hemisphere: medial view

Fig.2.5 Cortical areas: inferior view

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

13

The temporal and occipital lobes are subdivided by two sulci (lateral occipitotemporal
sulcus and medial occipitotemporal (collateral) sulcus) into three gyri, Fig.2.5:
Medial occipitotemporal gyrus whose temporal part constitutes the parahippocampal gyrus and the occipital part the lingual gyrus
Lateral occipitotemporal gyrus (called also the fusiform gyrus)
Inferior temporal gyrus
The lingual gyrus is separated from the cuneus by the calcarine sulcus (fissure).

2.2.3Deep Gray Nuclei

The deep gray nuclei are paired gray matter structures. The main deep gray nuclei
are (Fig.2.6):
Basal ganglia (nuclei)
Caudate nucleus
Lentiform nuclei
Putamen
Globus pallidus
Lateral (or outer) segment
Medial (or inner) segment (see also Sect.2.2.6)
Thalamus
Hippocampus
Amygdala (amygdaloid body)
The lentiform nuclei and the caudate nucleus form the striatum.

2.2.4Ventricular System
The ventricular system contains four interconnected cerebral ventricles (cavities)
filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (Fig.2.7a):
Left and right lateral ventricles
Third ventricle
Fourth ventricle
CSF is secreted mainly in the choroid plexus (a network of vessels) and circulates
from the lateral ventricles through the paired interventricular foramina (of Monro)
to the third ventricle, and then via the aqueduct to the fourth ventricle, Fig.2.7a.
Thelateral ventricles are the largest and each contains (Fig.2.7b):

14

Fig.2.6 Deep gray nuclei: (a) embedded into the brain; (b) shown in isolation

Body (or central portion)

Atrium (or trigon)
Horns
Frontal (anterior)
Occipital (posterior)
Temporal (inferior)

W.L. Nowinski

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

15

Fig.2.7 Ventricular system: (a) interconnected ventricles; (b) components of the lateral ventricle

2.2.5Sectional Neuroanatomy
Sectional (planar) neuroanatomy is typically presented on orthogonal (axial, coronal,
and sagittal) images. To spatially locate the orthogonal images, we place them in the
Talairach coordinate system [48], which is a stereotactic reference system based on
the anterior and posterior commissures (see also Fig.2.28a) with the origin at the
center of the anterior commissure (see also Figs.2.82.10).
Four axial images located at 12, +1, +12, and +24mm (where denotes the
level below and + above the anterior commissure) with the cortical areas and deep
gray nuclei segmented and labeled are shown in Fig.2.8.
Two coronal images passing through the anterior and posterior commissures are
presented in Fig.2.9.
Two sagittal images located at 3 and 21 mm from the midline are shown in
Fig.2.10.

2.2.6Main Stereotactic Target Structures

Several subcortical structures (and more recently also cortical areas) are therapeutic
stimulation targets in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery [84] to treat movement disorders (mainly Parkinsons disease), epilepsy, pain, and mental disorders
(psychosurgery). The main stereotactic target structures are:
Subthalamic nucleus, Fig.2.11
Ventrointermediate nucleus of the thalamus, Fig.2.12
Globus pallidus interna (medial segment), Fig.2.13
The subthalamic nucleus presented on the triplanar (the axial, coronal, and sagittal
planes) is shown in Fig.2.11.

16

W.L. Nowinski
Anterior
32mm
Superior frontal gyrus
Middle frontal gyrus

TT88a /12mm

Amygdaloid body

Inferior frontal gyrus

Superior temporal gyrus

Ventricle(s)

Inferior temporal gyrus

Left

Right

Middle temporal gyrus

Hippocampus

Inferior occipital gyrus

Hypothalamus: Supra-optic nucleus

Corticospinal tract: Face

Lingual gyrus

Fusiform gyrus
Hippocampal gyrus
Posterior
Anterior
32mm
Cingulate gyrus
Superior frontal gyrus
Middle frontal gyrus
Corpus callosum

TT88a/+1mm

Inferior frontal gyrus

Caudate nucleus

Insula
Superior temporal gyrus

Middle temporal gyrus

Globus pallidus lateral segment

Inferior temporal gyrus

Inferior occipital gyrus

Globus pallidus medial segment

Hippocampus

Left

Right

Putamen

Cuneus
Lingual gyrus
Posterior

Fig. 2.8 Planar neuroanatomy in axial orientation at: (a) 12 mm; (b) +1 mm (along with
theTalairach grid); (c) +12mm; (d) +24mm ( denotes the level below and + the level above the
anterior commissure)

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

17
Anterior
Superior frontal gyrus

TT88a/12mm

Cingulate gyrus

32mm

Middle frontal gyrus

Corpus callosum
Inferior frontal gyrus

Caudate nucleus

Superior temporal gyrus

Putamen

Left

Right

Precentral gyrus

Hippocampus
Middle temporal gyrus
Thalamus: Pulvinar nucleus
Middle occipital gyrus
Caudate nucleus
Cuneus
Corticospinal tract: inf. limb
Posterior
Anterior
32mm
Superior frontal gyrus
Middle
frontal
gyrus
Cingulate gyrus

TT88a/+24mm

Ventricle(s)

Inferior frontal gyrus

Precentral gyrus

Postcentral gyrus

Left

Right

Caudate nucleus

Corpus Callesum
Inferior parietal lobule
Middle temporal gyrus

Cingulate gyrus
Precuneus

Cuneus
Posterior

Fig.2.8 (continued)

Occipital gyri

18

W.L. Nowinski
Dorsal

TT88c / 0mm

32mm

Corpus callosum
Cortical areas

Ventricle(s)

Precentral gyrus

Putamen

Left

Right

Caudate nucleus

Globus pallidus lateral segment

Amygdaloid body
Globus pallidus medial segment
Hypothalamus: Lateral preoptic
nucleus

TT88c / -24mm

Ventral
Dorsal

Precentral gyrus

16mm

Left

Right

Cortical areas

Caudate nucleus
Ventricle(s)
Corpus callosum
Thalamus: Pulvinar nucleus
Hippocampus

Caudate nucleus
Ventricle(s)

Ventral

Fig.2.9 Planar neuroanatomy in coronal orientation at: (a) 0mm passing through the anterior
commissure (point), i.e., the location on the coronal plane where the horizontal and vertical planes
of the Talairach system intersect; (b) 24mm passing through the posterior commissure (point)

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

19
Dorsal

TT88s/L+3mm

8mm

Thalamus: Dorsomedial nucleus

Anterior commissure
Hypothalamus: Dorsal nucleus
Anterior

Posterior

Hypothalamus: Posterior nucleus

Hypothalamus: Ventromedial
nucleus
Hypothalamus: Medial preoptic
nucleus
Hypothalamus: Supra-optic nucleus
Ventral

Dorsal

TT88s/L+21mm

16mm

Globus pallidus lateral segment

Thalamus: Pulvinar nucleus
Ventricle(s)
Posterior

Anterior

Putamen

Anterior commissure

Hippocampus

Amygdaloid body

Cortical areas

Caudate nucleus
Ventral

Fig.2.10 Planar neuroanatomy in sagittal orientation at: (a) 3mm (along with the Talairach grid);
(b) 21mm from the midline

20

W.L. Nowinski
TT88s/L+9mm

Dorsal

8mm

TT88a/4mm

SW

Anterior

SW
t8

t8

Anterior

Posterior

TT88c/12mm

Left

Right

t9

Posterior
Dorsal

SW
t8

Left

Right

t9

Subthalamic nucleus

Ventral

Ventral

Fig.2.11 Subthalamic nucleus on sagittal, axial, and coronal planes (the location of the triplanar
is marked by the green dashed lines)

Fig.2.12 Ventrointermediate nucleus of the thalamus: sagittal, coronal, and axial planes

The ventrointermediate nucleus of the thalamus on the triplanar is presented in

Fig.2.12.
The globus pallidus interna on the triplanar is illustrated in Fig.2.13.
All three structures in 3D placed in the Talairach stereotactic coordinate system
are shown in Fig.2.14.

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

TT88a/1mm

Anterior

21
8mm

SW

TT88c /4mm

Dorsal

t8

SW

t8

Left

Right

t9

Right

Ventral
TT88s/ L+13mm Dorsal

SW

t8
t9

Anterior

Posterior

Globus pallidus medial segment

Posterior

Ventral

Fig.2.13 Globus pallidus interna (medial segment): axial, coronal, and sagittal planes

Fig.2.14 Stereotactic target structures in 3D. The marks on the axes are placed at 10-mm intervals

22

W.L. Nowinski

2.2.7Functional Areas
Several parcellations are introduced to subdivide the cortical regions into functional
areas [16]. Brodmanns parcellation based on histology is the most widely used and
it is illustrated in axial orientation in Fig. 2.15. Brodmanns areas are useful in
neuroscience and functional studies.

2.3Vascular Neuroanatomy
The knowledge of cerebrovasculature is crucial in stroke, vascular and tumor surgery
as well as interventional neuroradiology. The complete cerebrovasculature is highly
complex and variable, Fig.2.16. It is subdivided into:
Arterial system
Venous system with the cerebral veins and dural sinuses
a

TT88a / +8mm

Brodmanns area 10
Areas 10 and 19 belong to the prefrontal
cortex. Principal connections are with the
thalamus (dorsomedian nucleas) and
also the three other cerebral lobes, and
the hypothalamus. Efferent fibers,
associated with others from areas 8 and
45, accompany the tract of Arnold to the
brainstem.
Anterior
Brodmanns area 10

Brodmanns area 45
Areas 45 and 44 cover approximately the
cortical area of Broca (motor speech) in
the lower frontal convolution. They are
directly connected by long tract with area Brodmanns area 45
10 and undoubtedly with the
supplementary motor area.

Brodmanns area 37
Area 37 is an auditory visual association
area.
Brodmanns area 37

Brodmanns area 17
Area 19 is largely interconnected with the
adjacent areas and contralateral area 19
via callosal radiations. The occipital
Brodmanns area 17
oculomotor area on the external surface of
Area 17 is the primary visual sensory area
the lobe spreads over areas 18 and 19. It Brodmanns area 19
Brodmanns area 17 macroscopically identified by the striae of
is the seat of vertical and oblique
Gennari. It is directly connected with area
conjugate movements of automatic type.
18 and through it with area 19.
frontal oculomotor center, to the
Brodmann s area 18
sensorimotor cortex, and to the auditory
Brodmanns area 10
cortex by long association bundles.
Area 18 is the area of visual integration
possessing reciprocal connection with
area 19. Efferent fibers travel subcortically
toward the brainstem of the superior
quadrigeminal colliculus. The occipital
oculomotor area on the external surface of
the lobe spreads over areas 18 and 19. It
is the seat of vertical and oblique
conjugate movements of automatic type.
Areas 18 and 19 are connected to the
frontal oculomotor center, to the
sensorimotor cortex, and to the auditory
cortex by long association bundles

Fig.2.15 Brodmanns areas in axial orientation: (a) vision and speech areas (+8mm); (b) motor
and sensory areas (+40mm). The areas are uniquely color-coded

Fig.2.15 (continued)

Fig.2.16 The cerebral vasculature with arteries, veins, and dural sinuses. The vessels are uniquely
color-coded such that all vessels with the same name have the same color

24

W.L. Nowinski

2.3.1Arterial System
2.3.1.1Parcellation of Arterial System
The brain is supplied by two pairs of arteries:
Left and right internal carotid arteries anteriorly
Left and right vertebral arteries posteriorly forming the basilar artery (Fig.2.17a)
interconnected by the circle of Willis (Fig.2.21).
The internal carotid artery (ICA) branches into the anterior cerebral artery
(Fig.2.17c) and the middle cerebral artery (Fig.2.17d). The left and right posterior
cerebral arteries originate from the basilar artery (Fig.2.17e).

2.3.1.2Anterior Cerebral Artery

The anterior cerebral artery has the following main branches (Fig.2.18):
A1 segment (precommunicating part)
A2 segment (postcommunicating part)
Pericallosal artery
Callosomarginal artery

2.3.1.3Middle Cerebral Artery

The middle cerebral artery is subdivided into four segments (Fig.2.19a):

M1 segment (sphenoid part)

M2 segment (insular part)
M3 segment (opercular part)
M4 segment (terminal part)
Its main branches for the left hemisphere are shown in Fig.2.19b.

2.3.1.4Posterior Cerebral Artery

The posterior cerebral artery is parcellated into four segments (Fig.2.20):

P1 segment (precommunicating part)

P2 segment (postcommunicating part)
P3 segment (lateral occipital artery)
P4 segment (medial occipital artery)

25

Fig.2.17 The cerebral arteries: (a) blood supply to the brain by the internal carotid artery (ICA)
anteriorly, and the vertebral artery (VA) and the basilar artery (BA) posteriorly; (b) ICA and VA
connected by the circle of Willis; (c) anterior cerebral artery along with the ICA, VA, and BA;
(d)middle cerebral artery along with the ICA, VA, and BA; (e) posterior cerebral artery along with
the ICA, VA, and BA; (f) complete arterial system

26

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.18 Anterior cerebral artery

2.3.1.5Circle of Willis
The circle of Willis connects the anterior and posterior circulations. It includes the
following vessels (Fig.2.21):

Anterior communicating artery

Left and right posterior communicating arteries
Part of the left and right internal carotid arteries
Left and right A1 segments of the anterior cerebral arteries
Left and right P1 segments of the posterior cerebral arteries

2.3.2Venous System
2.3.2.1Parcellation of Venous System
The main components of the venous system are, Fig.2.22:
Dural sinuses

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

27

Fig.2.19 Middle cerebral artery: (a) M1, M2, M3, and M4 segments; (b) main branches of the
left hemisphere

Cerebral veins
Superficial veins
Deep veins
The cerebral veins empty into the dural sinuses.

28

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.20 Posterior cerebral artery

2.3.2.2Dural sinuses
The main dural sinuses are (Fig.2.23):

Superior sagittal sinus

Inferior sagittal sinus
Straight sinus
Left and right transverse sinuses
Left and right sigmoid sinuses

2.3.2.3Cerebral Veins
The main superficial cerebral veins are (Fig.2.24):

Frontopolar veins
Prefrontal veins
Frontal veins
Parietal veins
Occipital veins

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

29

Fig.2.21 The circle of Willis

Other important superficial veins include superior and inferior anastomotic

veins, and superficial middle cerebral vein.
The main deep cerebral veins are (Fig.2.25):
Great vein (of Galen)
Left and right basal vein (of Rosenthal)
Left and right internal cerebral veins

2.3.3Vascular Variants
The human cerebrovasculature is highly variable and vascular variants have been
extensively studied, see e.g., [6, 10, 13, 22]. Variations exist in terms of origin, location, shape, size, course, branching patterns as well as surrounding vessels and
structures. The knowledge of cerebrovascular variants is central in diagnosis,
treatment, and medical education.
Main variants in 3D in the circle of Willis are show in Fig.2.26 (more 3D variants
are presented in [70]).

30

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.22 Parcellation of the venous system: (a) dural sinuses (DS); (b) superficial veins with the
DS; (c) deep veins with the DS; (d) complete venous system

2.4Connectional Neuroanatomy
Three types of white matter connections (or tracts, fibers, bundles, fiber pathways,
fascicles) are distinguished in the cerebral hemispheres (Fig.2.27):
Commissural tracts
Association tracts
Projection tracts
In addition, three cerebellar paired peduncles:
Superior peduncle
Middle peduncle
Inferior peduncle
connect the cerebellum to the midbrain, pons and medulla of the brainstem,
respectively.

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

Fig.2.23 Dural sinuses (the left hemisphere is labeled)

Fig.2.24 Superficial cerebral veins of the left hemisphere

31

32

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.25 Deep cerebral veins

Fig. 2.26 Vascular variants of the circle of Willis: (a) double anterior communicating artery;
(b) absent left posterior communicating artery; (c) absent left P1 segment (the variants are in white)

2.4.1Commissural Tracts
The commissural tracts interconnect both hemispheres across the median plane.
The main commissural tracts are, Fig.2.28:
Corpus callosum
Anterior commissure
Posterior commissure
The corpus callosum (the great commissure) is the largest commissure. Its three
main parts, genu (knee), body, and splenium, connect the frontal lobes, wide areas
of hemispheres, and the occipital lobes, respectively.
The anterior commissure connects the temporal lobes, while the posterior
commissure the midbrain, thalamus, and hypothalamus on both sides.

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

33

Fig.2.27 White matter tracts on the left and for comparison the brain on the right

2.4.2Association Tracts
The association tracts interconnect different cortical regions of the same hemisphere. There are two types of the association tracts:
Short arcuate fibers that connect adjacent gyri (U fibers)
Long arcuate fibers interconnecting widely separated gyri
The main association tracts are (Fig.2.29):

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

Middle longitudinal fasciculus
Inferior longitudinal fasciculus
Superior occipito-frontal fasciculus
Inferior occipito-frontal fasciculus
Cingulum
Uncinate fasciculus

The superior longitudinal fasciculus connects the frontal lobe with the temporal,
parietal, and occipital lobes. The inferior longitudinal fasciculus links the temporal
lobe with the occipital lobe. The cingulum deep to the cingulated gyrus interconnects

34

W.L. Nowinski

Fig. 2.28 Commissural tracts with the corpus callosum, anterior commissure, and posterior
commissure: (a) on the midsagittal plane; (b) in 3D

parts of the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes. The uncinate fasciculus connects the
frontal lobe (orbital gyri and motor speech area) with the temporal lobe.

2.4.3Projection Tracts
The projection tracts connect the cortex with the subcortical structures in the diencephalon, brainstem, and spinal cord. The main projection tracts are (Fig.2.30):
Cortico-spinal (pyramidal) tract
Cortico-thalamic tract including the anterior, posterior (optic), and superior
thalamic radiations
Cortico-bulbar tract (connecting to the brainstem)
Cortico-pontine tract (projecting to the cerebellum)
Auditory radiations
The projection fibers between the striatum and thalamus form the internal
c apsule consisting of the anterior limb (containing the cortico-thalamic tract), genu
(comprising the cortico-bulbar tract), and posterior limb (containing the corticospinal tract). The fibers radiating from the internal capsule to various parts of the
cerebral cortex form the corona radiata.

2.5Summary
The brain contains the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, and it encases the
ventricular system. The cerebrum comprises the paired cerebral hemispheres and deep
gray matter nuclei including the caudate nucleus, putamen, lateral and medial globus

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

35

Fig.2.29 Association tracts of the left hemisphere

pallidus, thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. The hemispheres are

parcellated into frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, and limbic lobes. The cerebellum
contains the paired cerebellar hemispheres united by the midline vermis. The brainstem
is subdivided into midbrain, pons, and medulla. The ventricular system contains the
paired lateral and midline third and fourth ventricles.
The cerebral vasculature comprises the arterial and venous systems. The brain is
supplied by two pairs of arteries: internal carotid artery anteriorly and vertebral
artery posteriorly. The anterior and posterior circulations are connected by the circle
of Willis, from which originate three paired branches: anterior cerebral, middle
cerebral, and posterior cerebral arteries. The venous system contains dural sinuses,
and cerebral superficial and deep veins.
The brain is connected by commissural, association, and projection tracts. The main
commissural tracts (interconnecting both hemispheres) are: corpus callosum, and anterior and posterior commissures. The major association tracts (interconnectingdifferent regions of the same hemisphere) are: superior longitudinal, middle longitudinal,
inferior longitudinal, superior occipito-frontal, inferior occipito-frontal, and uncinate
fascicles. The main projection tracts (connecting the cortex with subcortical structures)
contain: cortico-spinal, cortico-thalamic (including optic radiation), cortico-bulbar, and
cortico-pontine tracts as well as auditory radiation.

36

W.L. Nowinski

Fig.2.30 Projection tracts of the right hemisphere along with the thalamus

This introduction covers basic neuroanatomy. For further study, the reader is
referred to the existing literature and electronic atlases.
Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to Drs. J Talairach and P Tournoux for the insightful
discussions about their atlases.
Numerous persons from our Biomedical Imaging Lab, A*STAR, Singapore, have contributed
to the development of tools for atlas construction and atlas-assisted applications. The key
contributorsare BC Chua, A Thirunavuukarasuu, Y Marchenko, GY Qian, and I Volkau (the references
[6470, 7680, 8392] provide a more complete list of contributors). I thank Aminah Bivi for her
editorial assistance.
I am also grateful to the reviewers: an anonymous reviewer and Dr. Joseph M. Corless, MD,
PhD, Duke University Medical Center, for their valuable comments.
This work has been funded by A*STAR, Singapore.

References
Neuroanatomy Textbooks
1. Apuzzo, M.L.J., Todd, E.M., Trent Jr., H.W.: Surgery of the Human Cerebrum. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia (2009)
2. Arslan, O.: Neuroanatomical Basis of Clinical Neurology. Parthenon, Lancaster (2001)

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

37

3. Blumenfeld, H.: Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland (2002)
4. Borden, N.M.: 3D Angiographic Atlas of Neurovascular Anatomy and Pathology. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge (2007)
5. Carpenter, M.B., Sutin, J.: Human Neuroanatomy. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore (1983)
6. Grand, W., Hopkins, L.N.: Vasculature of the Brain and Cranial Base: Variations in Clinical
Anatomy. Thieme, Stuttgart (1999)
7. Gray, H., Bannister, L.H., Berry, M.M., et al.: Grays Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of
Medicine and Surgery, 38th edn. Churchill Livingstone, Oxford (1995)
8. Harnsberger, H.R., Osborn, A.G., Ross, J., et al.: Diagnostic and Surgical Imaging Anatomy:
Brain, Head and Neck, Spine. Amirsys, Salt Lake City (2006)
9. Hendelman, W.J.: Atlas of Functional Neuroanatomy. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton (2000)
10. Huber, P.: Cerebral Angiography, 2nd edn. Thieme, Stuttgart (1982)
11. Kretschmann, H.J., Weinrich, W.: Neurofunctional Systems. 3D Reconstructions with
Correlated Neuroimaging. Thieme, Stuttgart (1998)
12. Kretschmann, H.J., Weinrich, W.: Cranial Neuroimaging and Clinical Neuroanatomy, 3rd edn.
Thieme, Stuttgart (2004)
13. Lasjaunias, P., Berenstein, A., ter Brugge, K.G.: Surgical Neuroangiography: Clinical Vascular
Anatomy and Variations, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin (2001)
14. Martin, J.: Neuroanatomy. Text and Atlas. Appleton & Lange, Norwalk (1989)
15. Netter, F.H.: The Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations, Volume 1: Nervous System, Part 1:
Anatomy and Physiology. Ciba-Geigy, New Jersey (1991)
16. Nieuwennhuys, R., Voogd, J., van Huijzen, C.: The Human Central Nervous System.
ASynopsis and Atlas, 4th edn. Springer, Berlin (2008)
17. Osborn, A.G., Ross, J., Crim, J., et al.: Expert Differential Diagnoses: Brain and Spine.
Amirsys, Salt Lake City (2008)
18. Purves, D., Augustine, G.J., Fitzpatrick, D., etal.: Neuroscience, 4th edn. Sinauer Associates,
Sunderland (2007)
19. Rhoton, A.L.: Cranial Anatomy and Surgical Approaches. The Congress of Neurological
Surgeons, Schaumburg (2003)
20. Salamon, G., Huang, Y.P.: Radiological Anatomy of the Brain. Springer, Berlin (1976)
21. Stephens, R.B., Stilwell, D.L.: Arteries and Veins of the Human Brain. CC Thomas, Springfield
(1969)
22. Yasargil, M.G.: Microneurosurgery, vol. 1. Thieme, Stuttgart (1984)

Print Brain Atlases

23. Afshar, E., Watkins, E.S., Yap, J.C.: Stereotactic Atlas of the Human Brainstem and Cerebellar
Nuclei. Raven, New York (1978)
24. Andrew, J., Watkins, E.S.: A Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Thalamus and Adjacent Structures.
A Variability Study. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore (1969)
25. Cho, Z.H.: 7.0 Tesla MRI Brain Atlas: In Vivo Atlas with Cryomacrotome Correlation.
Springer, Heidelberg (2009)
26. DeArmond, S.J., Fusco, M.M., Dewey, M.M.: Structure of the Human Brain. A Photographics
Atlas, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, New York (1989)
27. Duvernoy, H.M.: The Human Brain. Surface, Three-Dimensional Sectional Anatomy with
MRI, and Blood Supply. Springer, New York (1999)
28. Duvernoy, H.M.: The Human Hippocampus: An Atlas of Applied Anatomy. Bergman, Munch
(1988)
29. England, M., Wakeley, J.: Color Atlas of the Brain and Spinal Cord, 2nd edn. Mosby, St Louis
(2005)
30. Fix, J.D.: Atlas of the Human Brain and Spinal Cord. Aspen, Rockville (1987)

38

W.L. Nowinski

31. Haines, D.E.: Neuroanatomy: An Atlas of Structures, Sections, and Systems, 7th edn.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore (2008)
32. Kraus, G.E., Bailey, G.J.: Microsurgical Anatomy of the Brain. A Stereo Atlas. Wiliams &
Wilkins, Baltimore (1994)
33. Mai, J.K., Assheur, J., Paxinos, G.: Atlas of the Human Brain, 2nd edn. Academic, San Diego (2003)
34. Mai, J.K., Paxinos, G., Voss, T.: Atlas of the Human Brain, 3rd edn. Academic, Oxford (2008)
35. McMinn, R.M.H., Hutchings, R.T., Pegington, J., etal.: Color Atlas of Human Anatomy, 3rd
edn. Mosby Year Book, St. Louis (1993)
36. Morel, A., Magnin, M., Jeanmonod, D.: Multiarchitectonic and stereotactic atlas of the human
thalamus. J. Comp. Neurol. 387, 588630 (1997)
37. Naidich, T.P., Duvernoy, H.M., Delman, B.N., et al.: Duvernoys Atlas of the Human Brain
Stem and Cerebellum: High-Field MRI, Surface Anatomy, Internal Structure, Vascularization
and 3D Sectional Anatomy. Springer, New York (2009)
38. Ono, M., Kubik, S., Abernathey, C.D.: Atlas of the Cerebral Sulci. Thieme, Stuttgart (1990)
39. Orrison Jr., W.W.: Atlas of Brain Function, 2nd edn. Thieme, New-York (2008)
40. Putz, R.: Sobotta Atlas of Human Anatomy: Head, Neck, Upper Limb, Thorax, Abdomen,
Pelvis, Lower Limb, 14th edn. Churchill Livingstone, Oxford (2008)
41. Schaltenbrand, G., Bailey, W.: Introduction to Stereotaxis with an Atlas of the Human Brain.
Thieme, Stuttgart (1959)
42. Schaltenbrand, G., Wahren, W.: Atlas for Stereotaxy of the Human Brain. Thieme, Stuttgart
(1977)
43. Schitzlein, H.N., Murtagh, F.R.: Imaging Anatomy of the Head and Spine. A Photographic
Color Atlas of MRI, CT, Gross, and Microscopic Anatomy in Axial, Coronal, and Sagittal
Planes, 2nd edn. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Baltimore (1990)
44. Schuenke, M., Schulte, E., Schumacher, U., etal.: Head and Neuroanatomy. Thieme Atlas of
Anatomy. Thieme, New York (2007)
45. Speigel, E.A., Wycis, H.T.: Stereoencephalotomy: Part I. Methods and Stereotactic Atlas of
the Human Brain. Grune and Stratton, New York (1952)
46. Szikla, G., Bouvier, G., Hori, T.: Angiography of the Human Brain Cortex: Atlas of Vascular
Patterns and Stereotactic Localization. Springer, Berlin (1977)
47. Talairach, J., David, M., Tournoux, P.: Atlas dAnatomie Stereotaxique des Noyaux Gris
Centraux. Masson, Paris (1957)
48. Talairach, J., Tournoux, P.: Co-Planar Stereotactic Atlas of the Human Brain. Thieme, Stuttgart
(1988)
49. Talairach, J., Tournoux, P.: Referentially Oriented Cerebral MRI Anatomy: Atlas of Stereotaxic
Anatomical Correlations for Gray and White Matter. Thieme, Stuttgart (1993)
50. Van Buren, J.M., Borke, R.C.: Variations and Connections of the Human Thalamus. Springer,
Berlin (1972)
51. Woolsey, T.A., Hanaway, J., Mokhtar, H.G.: The Brain Atlas: A Visual Guide to the Human
Central Nervous System, 2nd edn. Wiley, New Jersey (2003)

Electronic Brain Atlases

52. A.D.A.M.: A.D.A.M Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine. Users Guide, A.D.A.M.
(1996)
53. Bayer: Microvascular Atlas of the Head and Neck. CD-ROM for Macintosh and Windows
(1996)
54. Berkovitz, B., Kirsch, C., Moxham, B., etal.: Interactive Head & Neck. CD-ROM PC and Mac
compatible. Primal, London (2003)
55. Bertrand, G., Olivier, A., Thompson, C.J.: Computer display of stereotaxic brain maps and
probe tracts. Acta. Neurochir. Suppl. 21, 235243 (1974)

2 Introduction to Brain Anatomy

39

56. Dev, P., Coppa, G.P., Tancred, E.: BrainStorm: desiging in interactive neuroanatomy atlas.
Radiology 185, 413 (1992)
57. Evans, A.C., Collins, L., Milner, B.: An MRI-based stereotactic atlas from 250 young normal
subjects. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 18, 408 (1992)
58. Ganser, K.A., Dickhaus, H., Metzner, R., etal.: A deformable digital brain atlas system according to Talairach and Tournoux. Med. Image Anal. 8(1), 322 (2004)
59. Greitz, T., Bohm, C., Holte, S., etal.: A computerized brain atlas: construction, anatomical
content, and some applications. J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr. 15(1), 2638 (1991)
60. Hoehne, K.H.: VOXEL-MAN, Part 1: Brain and Skull, Version 2.0. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)
61. Kazarnovskaya, M.I., Borodkin, S.M., Shabalov, V.A.: 3-D computer model of subcortical
structures of human brain. Comput. Biol. Med. 21, 451457 (1991)
62. Netters Anatomy. 2008. http://evolve.elsevier.com/staticPages/s_netter_iphone.html
63. Nowinski, W.L., Bryan, R.N., Raghavan, R.: The Electronic Clinical Brain Atlas. Multiplanar
Navigation of the Human Brain. Thieme, New York (1997)
64. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A., Kennedy, D.N.: Brain Atlas for Functional Imaging.
Clinical and Research Applications. Thieme, New York (2000)
65. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A., Bryan, R.N.: The Cerefy Atlas of Brain Anatomy. An
Introduction to Reading Radiological Scans for Students, Teachers, and Researchers. Thieme,
New York (2002)
66. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A.: The Cerefy Clinical Brain Atlas on CD-ROM.
Thieme, New York (2004)
67. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A., Benabid, A.L.: The Cerefy Clinical Brain Atlas:
Enhanced Edition with Surgical Planning and Intraoperative Support. Thieme, New York (2005)
68. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A., Volkau, I., et al.: The Cerefy Atlas of Cerebral
Vasculature. Thieme, New York (2009)
69. Nowinski, W.L., Chua, B.C., Qian, G.Y., etal.: The Human Brain in 1492 Pieces. Structure,
Vasculature, and Tracts. Thieme, New York (2011)
70. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunnavuukarasuu, A., Volkau, I., etal.: A three-dimensional interactive
atlas of cerebral arterial variants. Neuroinformatics 7(4), 255264 (2009)
71. Sramka, M., Ruzicky, E., Novotny, M.: Computerized brain atlas in functional neurosurgery.
Stereotact. Funct. Neurosurg. 69, 9398 (1997)
72. Sundsten, J.W., Brinkley, J.F., Eno, K., etal.: The Digital Anatomist. Interactive Brain Atlas.
CD ROM for the Macintosh. University of Washington, Seattle (1994)
73. Yelnik, J., Bardinet, E., Dormont, D., etal.: A three-dimensional, histological and deformable
atlas of the human basal ganglia. I. Atlas construction based on immunohistochemical and
MRI data. Neuroimage 34(2), 618638 (2007)
74. Yoshida, M.: Three-dimensional maps by interpolation from the Schaltenbrand and Bailey
atlas. In: Kelly, P.J., Kall, B.A. (eds.) Computers in Stereotactic Neurosurgery, pp. 143152.
Blackwell, Boston (1992)

Others
75. Federative Committee on Anatomical Terminology (FCAT): Terminologia Anatomica.
Thieme, Stuttgart (1999)
76. Nowinski, W.L., Volkau, I., Marchenko, Y., etal.: A3D model of the human cerebrovasculature derived from 3 tesla 3 dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography.
Neuroinformatics 7(1), 2336 (2009)
77. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A., Volkau, I., etal.: A new presentation and exploration
of human cerebral vasculature correlated with surface and sectional neuroanatomy. Anat. Sci.
Educ. 2(1), 2433 (2009)

40

W.L. Nowinski

78. Nowinski, W.L.: The cerefy brain atlases: continuous enhancement of the electronic TalairachTournoux brain atlas. Neuroinformatics 3(4), 293300 (2005)
79. Nowinski, W.L.: Electronic brain atlases: features and applications. In: Caramella, D.,
Bartolozzi, C. (eds.) 3D Image Processing: Techniques and Clinical Applications. Medical
Radiology series, pp. 7993. Springer, Berlin (2002)
80. Nowinski, W.L., Fang, A., Nguyen, B.T., etal.: Multiple brain atlas database and atlas-based
neuroimaging system. Comput. Aided Surg. 2(1), 4266 (1997)
81. Marchenko, Y., Volkau, I., Nowinski, W.L.: Vascular editor: from images to 3D vascular
models. J. Digit. Imaging 23(4), 386398 (2010)
82. Gelas, A., Valette, S., Prost, R., etal.: Variational implicit surface meshing. Comput. Graph.
33, 312320 (2009)
83. Volkau, I., Zheng, W., Aziz, A., etal.: Geometric modeling of the human normal cerebral
arterial system. IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 24, 529539 (2005)
84. Nowinski, W.L.: Anatomical and probabilistic functional atlases in stereotactic and functional
neurosurgery. In: Lozano, A., Gildenberg, P., Tasker, R. (eds.) Textbook of Stereotactic and
Functional Neurosurgery, 2nd edn, pp. 395441. Springer, Berlin (2009)
85. Nowinski, W.L., Qian, G., Bhanu Prakash, K.N., et al.: A CAD system for acute ischemic
stroke image processing. Int. J. Comput. Assisted Radiol. Surg. 2(suppl 1), 220222 (2007)
86. Nowinski, W.L., Qian, G., Bhanu Prakash, K.N., etal.: Analysis of ischemic stroke MR images
by means of brain atlases of anatomy and blood supply territories. Acad Radiol. 13(8), 1025
1034 (2006)
87. Nowinski, W.L., Belov, D.: The cerefy neuroradiology atlas: a Talairach-Tournoux atlas-based
tool for analysis of neuroimages available over the internet. Neuroimage 20(1), 5057 (2003)
88. Nowinski, W.L., Thirunavuukarasuu, A.: A locus-driven mechanism for rapid and automated
atlas-assisted analysis of functional images by using the Brain Atlas for Functional Imaging.
Neurosurg Focus 15(1), Article 3 (2003)
89. Nowinski, W.L., Benabid, A.L.: New directions in atlas-assisted stereotactic functional neurosurgery. In: Germano, I.M. (ed.) Advanced Techniques in Image-Guided Brain and Spine Surgery,
pp. 162174. Thieme, New York (2002)
90. Nowinski, W.L.: Computerized brain atlases for surgery of movement disorders. Semin.
Neurosurg. 12(2), 183194 (2001)
91. Nowinski, W.L., Yang, G.L., Yeo, T.T.: Computer-aided stereotactic functional neurosurgery
enhanced by the use of the multiple brain atlas database. IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 19(1),
6269 (2000)
92. Nowinski, W.L., Chua, B.C., Volkau, I., etal.: Simulation and assessment of cerebrovascular
damage in deep brain stimulation using a stereotactic atlas of vasculature and structure derived
from multiple 3T and 7T scans. J. Neurosurg. 113, 12341241 (2010)

http://www.springer.com/978-1-4419-9996-2