Brainstem

For multiple brainstem models and diagrams please see the Digital Anatomist site at Washington University.

Horizontal MRI of Low Brainstem This is a T1 weighted MRI at the level of the low brainstem. Can you identify the structures with the pointers? (from Harvard's Whole Brain Atlas)

Horizontal MRI of Mid Brainstem This is a T2 weighted MRI at the level of the upper brainstem. Can you identify the structures with the pointers? (from Harvard's Whole Brain Atlas)

Mini-Movie of the diencephalon, globus pallidus with the pyramidal tracts and the substantia nigra. Post-mortem cryo-section anatomy was used to construct these surface models. (from the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging)

Horizontal MRI of Upper Brainstem with Aneurysm This is a T2 weighted MRI showing an aneurysm in the interpeduncular cistern of the brainstem. Which vessel is located in this cistern? Need a hint, see the angiogram. (anterior to posterior orientation)

Horizontal MRI of a Parkinson's Disease Brainstem This is a T2 weighted MRI of a patient with Parkinson's disease. Notice that the substantia nigra in the brainstem is unusually dark. It has been postulated that this darkening of the substantia nigra results from the accumulation of iron. Iron accumulation is thought to occur when normal pathways are interupted. Such an MRI in an asymptomatic patient should raise the suspicion of Parkinson's disease.

Coronal MRI of an acoustic schwannoma This is a coronal T1 weighted MRI with contrast of a patient with a very common cranial neoplasm. Notice the displacement of the pons due to the growth surrounding the 8th nerve. Name the common location of this neoplasm.

Normal VII Nerve This is a sagital oblique T1 weighted MRI indicating a normal facial nerve (arrows). Can you name the bony structure though which the nerve is seen to travel?

Facial Schwannoma This is also a sagital oblique T1 weighted MRI. A schwannoma of the facial nerve is indicated by the arrow. This could be easily confused with which other nerve? Why?