As we go deeper into the brain, keep in mind that the corpus callosum is a broad, thick band running from side to side and consisting of millions and millions of nerve fibers. [For orientation , go here]. The fibers are axons of cells in the cerebral cortex. If something prevents those cells from developing then the corpus callosum won't develop, either; a condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) will be the result.
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It's often necessary to dissect deep into the human brain to see some of its most important parts. The corpus callosum is no exception. With the brain split right down the middle (a so-called sagittal section), the corpus callosum looks like what we see in the picture to our left. [Click the picture to see the parts of the corpus callosum more clearly. Use your computer's "back" function to return here when you're done.] Compare what you see in the sagittal section with drawing of the corpus callosum from a top view. |
| The next two pictures are of what anatomists call coronal sections-- slices of the brain, sections that would parallel the band on a headset. Notice how the corpus callosum looks here: | |
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 Here is a view of a living brain as seen with MRI (magnetic [nuclear] resonance imaging). Can you find the corpus callosum? See the labled drawing here for orientation. What about the splenium of the corpus callosum? A friend of mine, a neurosurgeon turned neurophysiologist, the late Hiroharu Noda , gave me this slide some years ago when we team-taught a graduate course on the visual part of the brain. |
 MEDIAL VIEW OF THE HUMAN BRAIN (drawn by Diane Jung). For the lateral view click here. |
 LATERAL VIEW OF THE HUMAN BRAIN (drawn by Diane Jung). |
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