Fiber Dissection Technique of the Tracts of the Lateral Aspects of the Hemisphere

Summary

Aim:
The aim of our study was to elucidate the individual fiber tracts courses of the lateral aspect of the hemisphere and documentation of their position relative to each other and also relative to other brain structures. We present a simple manual for the technique of dissection of the subcortical areas.

Materials and methods:
Using the Joseph Klingler’s technique consisting of freezing the formalin-fixed brain, we prepared and consequently performed the laboratory microdissection on six hemispheres. We documented the results with microand macrophotographs and correlated the course of the individual tracts with the results of DTI-tractography in a healthy volunteer.

Results:
Using the dissection technique, we documented the anatomy of the insula, lateral lenticulostriate perforating arteries, superior and inferior longitudinal fascicle, occipitofrontal, uncinate, claustrocortical connections in the external capsule, anterior commissure and internal capsule. All of these tracts, excluding the inferior longitudinal fascicle, which is hardly separable from the geniculocalcarine tract, are clearly and illustrativelly identifiable by the fiber dissection technique.

Conclusion:
The described dissection technique represents a practical educational tool; it enables neurosurgeon to understand the complexity of brain functional connections and should be accessible to all neurosurgery residents.

Key words:
anatomy – cortex – white matter tracts – fiber dissection technique – tractography

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