Cingulate Sulcus

The Cingulate Sulcus (CingS) separates the cingulate gyrus from rhe rest of the frontal lobe. It is seen on the mesial surface of the hemisphere, and is parallel to the anterior three quarters of the Corpus Callosum (CC). It has an anterior to posterior course starting just below the CC (1).

Because the point of origin can vary, particularly in relation to the Supra-Orbital Sulcus (see below) with which it may or not merge (2, 3), the original point should be marked, for consistency, just in front of the genu of the CC (4). From there it courses anteriorly, superiorly, and posteriorly (5). Before reaching the end it turns upward and reaches the top of the mesial surface (6). This posterior sector is known as the Ascending Branch of the Cingulate Sulcus (ascCingS), and constitutes a good landmark for the identification of the mesial segment of the CS. (See Central Sulcus.)

The CingS has, most often, a single, uninterrupted course, but it can also have real interruptions (8, curve traced in 9), or it can be doubled in the anterior sector (10) , or more posteriorly (12). In the two latter cases, for consistency reasons, it is convenient to trace the most anterior located sulcus and join the posteriorly set segment when the anterior segment ends (11, 13).

USC Biomedical Imaging Research Lab © 2009, designed by Dimitrios Pantazis