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Rostral sulcus

The rostral sulcus is a shallow groove on the medial surface of the frontal lobe that forms the inferior boundary of the rostral gyrus. It separates the rostral gyrus above from the more ventral/orbital frontal cortex below, and helps demarcate cortical areas in the medial frontal region.

Location

  • Lies on the medial surface of the frontal lobe.

  • Forms the inferior (ventral) boundary of the rostral gyrus.

  • Separates the rostral gyrus above from the more ventral/orbital medial frontal cortex below (e.g. medial orbitofrontal region).

MRI appearance

T1-weighted images:

  • Normal: Appears as a shallow linear indentation on the ventral medullary surface

  • Hypoglossal rootlets: Usually not individually visualized

  • Adjacent structures: Pyramid and olive show normal intermediate signal

T2-weighted images (including 3T MRI):

  • Normal sulcus: Shallow groove with adjacent CSF signal

  • Brainstem parenchyma: Normal low-to-intermediate signal on either side

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI):

  • Normal: No diffusion restriction

Post-contrast T1-weighted images:

  • Normal: No enhancement of the sulcus itself

CT appearance

Non-contrast CT:

  • Normal: Sulcus usually not well visualized due to limited soft-tissue contrast

Post-contrast CT:

  • Normal: No specific enhancement

MRI images

MRI rostral sulcus coronal anatomy image -img-00000-00000

MRI images

MRI rostral sulcus sag anatomy image -img-00000-00000