Superolateral View of the Right Cerebral Hemisphere
6463
Surgical Correlation
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Superolateral view of the right cerebral hemisphere. All four cerebral lobes can be identified in this view: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. The central (Rolandic) sulcus divides the frontal and parietal lobes and separates the precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex) and postcentral gyrus (primary somatosensory cortex). The lateral (Sylvian) fissure divides the frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe. An imaginary line from the parieto-occipital sulcus down to the pre-occipital notch divides the parietal and temporal lobes from the occipital lobe. The superior and inferior frontal sulci divide the frontal lobe into three gyri: superior, middle, and inferior. The superior frontal sulcus is deep and ends at the precentral sulcus at the level of the hand representation of the motor homunculus (the precentral gyrus in this region often appears as an inverted Omega sign). The inferior frontal gyrus has three very important parts: pars orbitalis (near the fronto-orbital region and orbital roof), pars triangularis (triangular in shape and retracts superiorly creating a prominent subarachnoid space underneath in the Sylvian fissure) and pars opercularis. Pars opercularis and triangularis in the dominant hemisphere correspond to Broca's area, which is responsible for the production of language. The intraparietal sulcus divides the parietal lobe into superior and inferior parietal lobules. The latter is further divided into supramarginal (wrapped around the posterior portion of the Sylvian fissure) and angular gyrus (wrapped around the terminus of the superior temporal sulcus). The superior and inferior temporal sulci divide the superolateral surface of the temporal lobe into superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri. The posterior third of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant hemisphere corresponds to Wernicke's area, which is related to the comprehension of language. (Image courtesy of AL Rhoton, Jr.)