High Yield Neuroanatomy

Flashcards covering high-yield neuroanatomy concepts including stroke syndromes, aphasias, cranial nerves, spinal tracts, and clinical pathology for board exam preparation.

Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)

A condition represented by a "swiss cheese" appearance on imaging, associated with a long-standing history of seizures.

Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) Stroke

Results in deficits of the contralateral upper limb and face; a left-sided lesion typically affects speech in dominant individuals.

Anterior Cerebral Artery (ACA) Stroke

Results in deficits of the contralateral lower limb.

Primary Motor Cortex

Located anterior to the central sulcus; responsible for motor function.

Primary Sensory Cortex

Located posterior to the central sulcus; responsible for sensory perception.

Broca Aphasia

Non-fluent, "telegraphic" speech with impaired repetition but intact comprehension; caused by a lesion in the inferior frontal gyrus.

Wernicke Aphasia

Fluent "word salad" speech with impaired repetition and comprehension; caused by a lesion in the superior temporal gyrus.

Angular Gyrus

A parietal lobe structure where a lesion leads to Gerstmann syndrome: agraphia, right-left agnosia, finger agnosia, and acalculia.

Arcuate Fasciculus

The white matter tract connecting Broca and Wernicke areas; a lesion results in conduction aphasia (impaired repetition only).

Hemineglect Syndrome

Caused by a stroke in the non-dominant parietal lobe (usually the right MCA), leading to neglect of the left visual field.

Cerebellar Vermis

The midline area of the cerebellum responsible for trunk stability; a lesion results in truncal ataxia.

Posterior Lobe of Cerebellum

A region where a lesion results in ipsilateral limb ataxia.

Frontotemporal Dementia

A condition characterized by progressive personality change, apathy, and disinhibition due to pathology in the frontal lobe.

Medial Medullary Syndrome

Caused by occlusion of the paramedian branch of the anterior spinal artery (ASA), presenting with ipsilateral tongue deviation.

Lateral Medullary Syndrome (Wallenberg syndrome)

Caused by occlusion of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) or vertebral artery, presenting with hoarseness, dysphagia, and potentially Horner syndrome.

Lateral Pontine Syndrome

Caused by occlusion of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA), classically presenting with ipsilateral Bell’s palsy and hearing loss.

Central Pontine Myelinolysis

Demyelination of the pons caused by rapid correction of hyponatremia with hypertonic saline, potentially resulting in locked-in syndrome.

Weber Syndrome

A midbrain lesion in the paramedian branch of the PCA, resulting in ipsilateral oculomotor nerve (CN III) palsy and contralateral hemiparesis.

Medial Longitudinal Fasciculus (MLF) Syndrome

Also known as internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO); the side that cannot adduct is the side of the pathology; pathognomonic for multiple sclerosis.

Substantia Nigra

A midbrain structure containing dopaminergic neurons; loss leads to Parkinson disease (resting tremor, shuffling gait, bradykinesia).

Olfactory Nerve (CN I)

Attached to the olfactory bulbs/tracts on the frontal lobe; the only cranial nerve that does not relay through the thalamus.

Foramen Rotundum

The skull exit point for the maxillary branch (V2) of the trigeminal nerve.

Basilar Artery Stroke

Results in locked-in syndrome, presenting as quadriplegia, aphonia, and impaired horizontal eye movements.

Subclavian Steal Syndrome

Proximal stenosis of the subclavian artery resulting in retrograde flow through the vertebral artery, often causing blood pressure differences between arms.

Fasciculus Gracilis

The medial part of the dorsal columns carrying vibration and proprioception from the lower limbs.

Spinothalamic Tract

The spinal tract responsible for conveying pain and temperature sensation.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Degeneration of the lateral corticospinal tracts and anterior horns, presenting with a combination of upper and lower motor neuron signs without sensory findings.

Tabes Dorsalis

A manifestation of neurosyphilis involving demyelination and loss of the dorsal columns, resulting in loss of vibration and proprioception.

Syringomyelia

A lesion of the anterior white commissure, often associated with Chiari I malformation, resulting in bilateral loss of pain and temperature.

Caudate Nucleus

The brain structure where pathology occurs in Huntington disease, presenting with chorea and dementia.

Lenticulostriate Vessels

Supply the internal capsule; chronic hypertension leads to lipohyalinosis of these vessels and "pure motor" strokes.

Subthalamic Nucleus

A lesion in this structure leads to hemiballismus (large-magnitude flailing movements of the contralateral limbs).

Epidural Hematoma

A fast-accumulating, biconvex/lens-shaped bleed from a rupture of the middle meningeal artery, often featuring a lucid interval.

Subdural Hematoma

A crescent-shaped bleed from the rupture of bridging (superior cerebral) veins, common in the elderly and alcoholics.

Diffused Axonal Injury

Caused by shearing forces from rapid-deceleration injury, showing irregular areas of hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted MRI.

Pilocytic Astrocytoma

A common pediatric brain tumor appearing on MRI as a large solid and cystic lesion.

Chiari II Malformation

Also known as Arnold-Chiari malformation; involves cerebellar tonsil herniation accompanied by a lumbosacral myelomeningocele.

Dandy-Walker Malformation

A condition characterized by an absent cerebellar vermis and cystic dilation of the fourth ventricle.

Marcus-Gunn Pupil

An afferent pupillary defect caused by a CN II lesion (classically optic neuritis), where the pupils appear to dilate when light is moved from the unaffected eye to the affected eye.

Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis

A condition typically following a sinus infection, presenting with fever, diplopia, and ophthalmoplegia; the abducens nerve (CN VI) is most susceptible.

Hippocampus

An area highly sensitive to ischemic insult; damage results in anterograde amnesia.

Oligodendrocytes

Cells that synthesize myelin in the central nervous system; these are the targets of T-cell mediated destruction in multiple sclerosis.

Microglial Cells

The macrophages of the CNS which clear necrotic tissue and are the major cellular reservoir for HIV in the brain.

Parinaud Syndrome

Upward gaze palsy, often secondary to a pinealoma infringing on the dorsal midbrain.

Area Postrema

A chemotactic trigger zone for emesis located on the dorsal aspect of the medulla at the caudal 4th ventricle.

Mammillary Bodies

Brain structures that atrophy in Wernicke encephalopathy (ataxia, confusion, ophthalmoplegia) due to thiamine deficiency.

Nucleus Basalis of Maynert

The primary location of acetylcholine-secreting neurons in the brain.

Raphe Nuclei

The primary location of serotonin-secreting neurons in the brain.

Locus Coeruleus

The primary location of norepinephrine-secreting neurons in the brain.

Prosopagnosia

The inability to recognize faces, associated with occipital lobe lesions from PCA infarcts.

Cushing Triad

A sign of increased intracranial pressure consisting of hypertension, bradycardia, and bradypnea.

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

Characterized by hyperphagia, hypersexuality, and hyperorality, resulting from bilateral amygdala lesions (e.g., following HSV encephalitis).

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

A condition caused by an otolith in the posterior semicircular canal, reproducible with the Dix-Hallpike maneuver.