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Precentral fissure

The precentral fissure of the cerebellum is a prominent anatomical landmark found on the superior surface of the cerebellum. It is a deep transverse groove that separates the anterior (culmen) and posterior (declive) lobules of the cerebellar vermis, thus playing a critical role in dividing the anterior lobe from the posterior lobe of the cerebellum. This fissure is essential for identifying different cerebellar regions both in anatomical dissection and on neuroimaging studies.

Synonyms

  • Fissura precentralis (Latin)

  • Precentral sulcus of the cerebellum

  • Fissure between culmen and declive

Arterial Supply

  • Primarily supplied by branches of the Superior Cerebellar Artery (SCA)

  • Minor contribution from the Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery (AICA) in some individuals

  • These arteries originate from the basilar artery

Venous Drainage

  • Drained by the superior cerebellar veins

  • These veins empty into the great cerebral vein (vein of Galen) and the straight sinus

Function

  • The fissure itself is an anatomical boundary and does not have a direct functional role

  • It helps define the division between the anterior lobe (involved in coordination of limb movements) and the posterior lobe (involved in fine motor coordination and planning)

  • Thus, indirectly related to the functional differentiation of cerebellar lobes

MRI Appearance

  • Appears as a deep, curvilinear hypointense (dark) groove on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images

  • Clearly separates the culmen (anteriorly) from the declive (posteriorly) on mid-sagittal and axial images

  • Enhanced by high-resolution 3D sequences (such as MP-RAGE or FIESTA)

CT Appearance

  • Visualized as a thin hypodense (dark) line between denser cerebellar folia

  • Best seen on thin-section or high-resolution CT images, particularly in the midline sagittal or axial plane

  • Less distinctly visualized than on MRI due to lower soft-tissue contrast, but may be appreciated in cases of cerebellar atrophy or pathology causing accentuation of fissures

MRI images

Precentral fissure MRI 3T axial image

MRI images

Precentral fissure MRI 3T coronal image

MRI images

Precentral fissure MRI 3T sagittal image

CT image

Precentral fissure of cerebellum CT sag anatomy image -img-00001-00001