Neuroscience
and
Behavior
CISTERNS - Sagittal Plane
Subarachnoid Cisterns
The cisterns are expanded areas of the subarachnoid space. They are caused by the complex shape of the brain as the arachnoid tries to conform to bends and curves. They border many brain areas and they contain important segments of blood vessels and cranial nerves traveling to other regions. Thus, they are important radiological areas for detecting potential pathology (tumors, hemorrhage, etc.).Click on the cistern to display it
- Transverse cerebral fissure
- Quadrageminal
- Ambient
- Interpeduncular
- Chiasmatic
- Cisterna Magna
- Pontine
- Cerebellomedullary
Shown in Axial or Coronal Planes
MRI images: The Whole Brain Atlas, Keith A. Johnson, M.D. and J. Alex Becker, Ph.D., http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html