Definitions and Descriptions of Brain bits

[JemmAus]

I am frequently confused about exactly what some terms on MRI scans actually mean, and haven't been able to find a good diagram of the brain to explain things.

Does anyone know a link with pictures of the relevant bits of the brain (something like a school text book picture/diagram/ explanation) so when a report says stuff like "lesions are periventricular" one can look at the diagram then the scan and see exactly what and where things are?

The bits I don't get are
periventricular ( next to the ventricles?)
ventricles (where exactly are they?)
juxtacortical( I guess that's next to the cortex, but where is the cortex?)
subcortical (beneath the cortex?)
corpus callosum

Anyway, if anyone know a link to a good picture, or if anyone is artistic and can draw one with the relevant bits labelled, that'd be awesome...

Jemm

[sllowe]

I have a great website I use for MRI stuff, and lingo.  I'll post it here tomorrow and agree a HP is in order for the lingo.  Unless the site describes it better, than we can just add it to our HP that will have our handy links on it...
-Shell

[jensequitur]

We should have a health page that talks about MRI lingo, and what exactly it all means.  Maybe when I'm done with this festival this weekend I'll get a round tuit.

• periventricular ( next to the ventricles?)
Yup.  Situated or occuring around a ventricle.

• ventricles (where exactly are they?)
They're the butterfly shaped space in the middle of your brain.  CSF fluid is theorized to carry antibodies into your brain, which then attack the myelin surrounding the neurons.  MS activity is thought to be only around those areas that are closest to these kind of areas - blood, CSF fluid, etc.  I think this is misleading, as MS activity can be anywhere in the brain.

• juxtacortical( I guess that's next to the cortex, but where is the cortex?)
The cortex is the outer layer of brain matter.  In general, a cortex is any outer layer of an organ - your liver has a cortex, for instance.

• subcortical (beneath the cortex?)
Yup.

• corpus callosum
Between the two halves of the brain, there's a connecting band that allows the two halves to communicate.  When the individual uses both halves of the brain (like musicians, for example) the structure is larger.  When somebody has severe epilepsy, they often cut the corpus callosum so that the seizure activity won't pass between the two halves.

[Fluffysmom]

I'm looking forward to the term definitions and a good neuroanatomy site to visit.  I've googled such things, but I haven't been able to get things quite clear in my mind as to what part is where in there!

Honest, I don't think about this stuff all the time, but as I'm stuck in limboland; I want as clear an understanding as possible of what I'm dealing with.

Thanks,

Kathy

[Quixotic1]

It's really late here (00:30) and I have to shower and go to bed with a 9am Dr. visit 20 miles away.  But, I'll be glad to define the terms for you and send you to a good neuroanatomy site tomorrow.

Q