A forum dedicated to the expansion in neuropathology knowledge for students and practitioners alike.
Take an anatomy tour through a coronal section of the normal brain at the level of the anterior commisure. Join me as I review the major neuroanatomical structures of the normal brain, touching on structures that are important to normal functioning and also key players in certain disease processes. https://youtu.be/lwF0AySb0c0
The dorsal root ganglia consist of the cell bodies of sensory afferent neurons and are located along either side of the spinal cord. These unipolar neurons characteristically have large cell bodies, which are needed to support the very long axons that carry sensory information from the distal extremities to the cord. Normal ganglia (such as the one... Continue Reading →
During the first half of gestation, the human fetal brain has a smooth surface. At about 20 weeks gestation, the brain begins to form the bumps (gyri) and grooves (sulci) that are typical of the adult brain, averaging about 1 sulcus per week of gestation after 20 weeks. The brain of this 25 week gestation... Continue Reading →
A normal adult loses about 0.2% of brain volume every year after middle age. Compared to young and middle-aged adults, the brains of the elderly have comparatively widened sulci, narrowed gyri, a thin cortical ribbon, and enlarged ventricles due to progressive brain volume loss, which, clinically, may contribute slower processing speed for cognitive tasks and other changes. Microglia-mediated synaptic pruning and other etiologies for decreasing cortical volume in the... Continue Reading →
Dandy-Walker malformation, an uncommon brain abnormality that may be seen in isolation or in association with other congenital abnormalities of brain development, is characterized by an enlarged posterior fossa, agenesis or hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis, and cystic dilatation of the fourth ventricle. In this case of a term infant with multiple congenital abnormalities, the superior most aspect of the... Continue Reading →
The brain of a premature fetus, shown here (front of brain pointing to the left) is initially smooth in the early stages of development. After about 20 weeks gestation, grooves develop in the cortical surface that gradually become more defined until they form well delineated gyri and sulci (i.e. bumps and grooves) typical of a mature brain. The brain... Continue Reading →
Learn about the normal structures, layers and chambers of the human eye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZCVDtHHa7U&feature=share Subscribe to your Adventures in Neuropathology YouTube channel for more educational neuropathology content: Adventures in Neuropathology
Dorsal root ganglia are located along the length of the spinal cord and are composed of clusters of large neuron cell bodies, each with a prominent nucleus and nucleolus, that belong to sensory nerves whose axons deliver sensory information to the spinal cord.
Adventures in Neuropathology 