02/03/2026
I’m looking forward to learning more neuroanatomy this week. In CST we treat the client, not the symptoms. When we truly listen to all of our parts, we become whole. Do you feel like something’s missing? We hold all our answers within us.
To find out more and to book in see
www.heatherrobertson.co.uk 💖
CT HEAD ANATOMY
Axial slice of a non contrast CT head at the level of the basal ganglia
👨🏽💻The basal ganglia are a group of structures including the caudate and lentiform nucleus in the cerebrum as seen here, the substantia nigra within the midbrain and the subthalamic nuclei in the diencephalon
👨🏽💻Simply put the basal ganglia is important in motor function, facilitating movement and inhibiting competing movements. It is depletion of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra that results in Parkinson’s disease whilst reduced activity of the subthalamic nuclei results in hemiballismus
📝 take note of ...
▫️The sylvian fissure (AKA lateral sulcus) separates the frontal and parietal lobe above from the temporal lobe below - I like to follow the MCA here, I’ve seen cases of hyperdense MCA reflecting hyperacute stroke with only a short segment of the MCA affected in the Sylvian fissure
▫️The insula cortex runs deep to the sylvian fissure and is an important review area in early MCA ischaemic stroke - here you are looking for a loss of the normal ‘brighter’ grey density
▫️The lens shaped lentiform nucleus is made up of the globus pallidus and putamen - these structures can be differentiated on MRI. Look out for infarcts which will manifest on acute CT as ill defined low density
Follow for more anatomy cases!
