US EPA

1988207 

Journal Article 

Morphology and digitally aided morphometry of the human paracentral lobule 

Spasojevic, G; Malobabic, S; Pilipovic-Spasojevic, O; Macut, ND; Malikovic, A 

2013 

1 

Folia Morphologica
ISSN: 0015-5659
EISSN: 1644-3284 

72 

1 

10-16 

English 

23749705 

10.5603/FM.2013.0002 

WOS:000318059600002 

http://dx.doi.org/10.5603/FM.2013.0002
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The human paracentral lobule; the junction of the precentral and postcentral gyri at the medial hemispheric surface, contains several important functional regions, and its variable morphology requires exact morphological and quantitative data. In order to obtain precise data we investigated the morphology of the para central lobule and quantified its visible (extrasulcal) surface. This surface corresponds to commonly used magnetic resonance imaging scout images. We studied 84 hemispheres of adult persons (42 brains; 26 males and 16 females; 20-65 years) fixed in neutral formalin for at least 4 weeks. The medial hemispheric surface was photographed at standard distance and each digital photo was calibrated. Using the intercommissural line system (commissura anterior-commissura posterior or CA-CP line), we performed standardised measurements of the para central lobule. Exact determination of its boundaries and morphological types was followed by digital morphometry of its extrasulcal surface using AutoCAD software. We found two distinct morphological types of the human paracentral lobule: continuous type, which was predominant (95.2%), and rare segmented type (4.8%). In hemispheres with segmented cingulate sulcus we also found the short transitional lobulo-limbic gyrus (13.1%). The mean extrasulcal surface of the left paracentral lobule was significantly larger, both in males (left 6.79 cm(2) vs. right 5.76 cm(2)) and in females (left 6.05 cm(2) vs. right 5.16 cm(2)). However, even larger average surfaces in males were not significantly different than the same in females. Reported morphological and quantitative data will be useful during diagnostics and treatment of pathologies affecting the human paracentral lobule, and in further studies of its cytoarchitectonic and functional parcellations. (Folia Morphol 2013; 72, 1: 10-16) 

paracentral lobule; anatomy; encephalometry; human brain; left-right asymmetry; sex differences