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Cingulate sulcus

The cingulate sulcus is a prominent anatomical groove located on the medial aspect of the cerebral hemisphere, superior to the cingulate gyrus. It forms the upper boundary of the cingulate gyrus and plays a crucial role as a landmark in neuroanatomy, separating the limbic lobe from the superior frontal gyrus. The cingulate sulcus is visible in most imaging modalities and is essential for identifying medial brain structures, particularly in functional and structural neuroimaging.

Synonyms

  • Sulcus cinguli

  • Cingular sulcus

  • Callosomarginal sulcus (sometimes refers to a branch/continuation of the cingulate sulcus)

Function

  • Serves as an important anatomical landmark for separating the cingulate gyrus from the superior frontal gyrus

  • Helps in localizing the limbic lobe, which is involved in emotional processing and cognitive functions

  • Acts as a guide during neurosurgical planning and functional imaging

  • Important in mapping the default mode network and related cortical regions

Arterial Supply

  • Supplied mainly by the branches of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA), especially the pericallosal and callosomarginal arteries

  • Small penetrating arteries from these vessels supply the adjacent cortex and sulcal region

Venous Drainage

  • Drained predominantly by the cingulate veins, which empty into the superior sagittal sinus

  • Some venous drainage may also occur via the superficial middle cerebral vein and small cortical veins

MRI Appearance

  • T1-weighted Images:

    • The cingulate sulcus appears as a dark (hypointense) linear groove, separating the brighter cortical gray matter of the cingulate gyrus from the superior frontal gyrus.

  • T2-weighted Images:

    • The sulcus is seen as a hyperintense (bright) CSF-filled groove, clearly outlining the cingulate gyrus and neighboring structures.

  • FLAIR:

    • The cingulate sulcus is usually visualized as a hypointense groove with suppressed CSF signal, enhancing the contrast between gray matter and adjacent white matter.

CT Appearance

  • The cingulate sulcus appears as a linear CSF-density (dark) groove on non-contrast CT, running parallel and just above the corpus callosum.

  • Not as conspicuous as on MRI, but can be identified in thin-section scans, especially in midline cuts.

MRI images

Cingulate sulcus MRI 3T axial image

MRI images

Cingulate sulcus MRI 3T sagittal image