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Concept
Corpus callosum
Summary
The corpus callosum (Latin for "tough body"), also callosal commissure, is a wide, thick nerve tract, consisting of a flat bundle of commissural fibers, beneath the cerebral cortex in the brain. The corpus callosum is only found in placental mammals. It spans part of the longitudinal fissure, connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres, enabling communication between them. It is the largest white matter structure in the human brain, about in length and consisting of 200–300 million axonal projections.
A number of separate nerve tracts, classed as subregions of the corpus callosum, connect different parts of the hemispheres. The main ones are known as the genu, the rostrum, the trunk or body, and the splenium.
The corpus callosum forms the floor of the longitudinal fissure that separates the two cerebral hemispheres. Part of the corpus callosum forms the roof of the lateral ventricles.
The corpus callosum has four main parts – individual nerve tracts that connect different parts of the hemispheres. These are the rostrum, the genu, the trunk or body, and the splenium. A narrowed part between the trunk and the splenium is known as the isthmus. Fibres from the trunk and the splenium known together as the tapetum form the roof of each lateral ventricle.
The front part of the corpus callosum, towards the frontal lobes, is called the genu ("knee"). The genu curves downward and backward in front of the septum pellucidum, diminishing greatly in thickness. The lower, much thinner part is the rostrum and is connected below with the lamina terminalis, which stretches from the interventricular foramina to the recess at the base of the optic stalk. The rostrum is named for its resemblance to a bird's beak.
The end part of the corpus callosum, towards the cerebellum, is called the splenium. This is the thickest part, and overlaps the tela choroidea of the third ventricle and the midbrain, and ends in a thick, convex, free border. Splenium translates as "bandage" in Greek.
The trunk of the corpus callosum lies between the splenium and the genu.
Official source
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