Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Sid Gilman
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- 1 Embryology of the cerebellum
- 2 Neuroanatomy of the cerebellum
- 3 High-resolution cerebellar anatomy
- 4 Neurotransmitters in the cerebellum
- 5 Structure and function of the cerebellum
- PART II THEORIES OF CEREBELLAR CONTROL
- PART III CLINICAL SIGNS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS
- PART IV SPORADIC DISEASES
- PART V TOXIC AGENTS
- PART VI ADVANCES IN GRAFTS
- PART VII NEUROPATHOLOGY
- PART VIII DOMINANTLY INHERITED PROGRESSIVE ATAXIAS
- PART IX RECESSIVE ATAXIAS
- Index
2 - Neuroanatomy of the cerebellum
from PART I - INTRODUCTION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Sid Gilman
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- 1 Embryology of the cerebellum
- 2 Neuroanatomy of the cerebellum
- 3 High-resolution cerebellar anatomy
- 4 Neurotransmitters in the cerebellum
- 5 Structure and function of the cerebellum
- PART II THEORIES OF CEREBELLAR CONTROL
- PART III CLINICAL SIGNS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS
- PART IV SPORADIC DISEASES
- PART V TOXIC AGENTS
- PART VI ADVANCES IN GRAFTS
- PART VII NEUROPATHOLOGY
- PART VIII DOMINANTLY INHERITED PROGRESSIVE ATAXIAS
- PART IX RECESSIVE ATAXIAS
- Index
Summary
Introduction
In humans, the cerebellum overlies the posterior parts of the pons and medulla, occupying a large part of the posterior fossa. Structurally, the cerebellum consists of four pairs of deep nuclei, embedded in white matter, and is surrounded by a cortical mantle of gray matter. Unlike in the cerebral cortex, the cytoarchitecture of the cerebellum is remarkably uniform. This chapter reviews the fundamental aspects of the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the cerebellum, with emphasis on aspects of functional importance.
Evolution
Cartilaginous fish have a transversal eminence at the level of the octavo-lateral line system (Schnitzlein and Faucette, 1969). Even in the lower species, the afferent pathway is not limited to the VIIIth nerve. Trigeminal somesthetic projections and a genuine spinocerebellar tract are present. The cytoarchitecture of the cerebellum has evolved with few refinements.
In most teleosts and amphibians the cerebellum is a single leaf with lateral auricles (Fig. 2.1). In reptiles and birds, this original leaf duplicates in the rostral direction as a foliated fan-like structure, named the vermis because of its worm-like appearance. The posterior portions (the flocculus and paraflocculus) and their lateral expansions (the auricles) are the oldest phylogenetic part, making up the vestibulocerebellum. From birds to primates the number of folia increases significantly (22 in pigeons and 260 in humans). In parallel with this rostro-caudal expansion and the development of the cerebral cortex, there has been a continuous medio-lateral expansion of the hemispheres. The area of transition between the vermis and the hemispheres is called the intermediate region.
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- The Cerebellum and its Disorders , pp. 6 - 29Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001
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