Today's Hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm

Bassett Collection of Stereoscopic Images of Human Anatomy

Exploration of the meninges and brain in situ

Branches of posterior communicating artery within basal cisterns

Image #3-2

KEYWORDS: Brain, Diencephalon, Midbrain, Peripheral nervous system, Vasculature, Ventricules.

Creative Commons

Stanford holds the copyright to the David L. Bassett anatomical images and has assigned Creative Commons license Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International to all of the images.

Creative Commons License logo

For additional information regarding use and permissions, please contact Dr. Drew Bourn at dbourn@stanford.edu.

Exploration of the meninges and brain in situ
Branches of posterior communicating artery within basal cisterns
The brain stem has now been cut across through the rostral part of the mesencephalon, the optic tract removed and the optic chiasm lifted somewhat out of its normal position. Numerous small arterial branches of the posterior communicating and posterior cerebral arteries which pass into the hypothalamus and interpeduncular fossa cross the basal cisterns (cisternae chiasmatis et interpeduncularis). Nearly the entire extent of the third ventricle is visible.
1 . Olfactory tract (cut across)
2 . Inferior cerebral vein
3 . Lesser wing sphenoid bone (covered by dura)
4 . Middle cerebral artery (cut across)
5 . Anterior cerebral artery left
6 . Internal carotid artery
7 . Chiasmatic cistern
8 . Upper pointer: Choroidal artery (anterior) (cut across) Lower pointer: Posterior communicating artery
9 . Optic tract (cut across and lifted up)
10 . Oculomotor nerve (III)
11 . Posterior cerebral artery
12 . Branch of posterior cerebral artery to brain stem (lateral central branch)
13 . Tributaries of basal vein which passed into tip of inferior horn of lateral ventricle
14 . Substantia nigra
15 . Red nucleus
16 . Basal vein [Rosenthal]
17 . Tentorium cerebelli
18 . Continuation of main trunk of posterior cerebral artery
19 . Anterior cerebral artery right
20 . Falx cerebri
21 . Cingulate gyrus
22 . Pericallosal branch of anterior cerebral artery
23 . Anterior commissure
24 . Free part of column of fornix
25 . Ventricular surface of hypothalamus
26 . Mamillary body (cut across)
27 . Massa intermedia
28 . Cerebral peduncle
29 . Internal cerebral vein
30 . Cerebral auditory aqueduct
31 . Posterior commissure
32 . Corpus callosum (splenium)