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Superior occipital gyrus

The Superior Occipital Gyrus is a distinct anatomical region of the occipital lobe, located on the superior part of the medial and lateral surfaces of the brain's occipital cortex. This gyrus plays an important role in visual processing, spatial orientation, and higher-order integration of visual information. It is bordered by the parieto-occipital sulcus medially and the intraparietal sulcus superiorly, extending laterally towards the occipital pole. The region is crucial for complex visual perception and is interconnected with other visual and parietal association areas.

Synonyms

  • Superior occipital lobule

  • Gyrus occipitalis superior (Latin)

  • Superior occipital cortex

Arterial Supply

  • Mainly supplied by branches of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA), particularly the parieto-occipital branch.

  • Additional minor supply from terminal branches of the calcarine artery and the middle cerebral artery (via anastomoses).

Venous Drainage

  • Venous drainage is primarily through the superior sagittal sinus via the superior occipital veins.

  • Additional drainage into the transverse sinus through the superficial cortical veins.

Function

  • Involved in higher-order visual processing.

  • Plays a role in spatial orientation, motion perception, and integration of visual information from multiple sensory modalities.

  • Participates in visual attention and interpretation of complex visual stimuli.

MRI Appearance

T1-weighted images:

  • Cortex: Intermediate gray signal (gray matter)

  • White matter: Bright compared to cortex

  • Sulci and CSF: Dark (low signal)

  • Lesions:

    • Tumors appear as low-to-intermediate signal masses with cortical expansion

    • Infarcts show hypointensity with cortical thinning or volume loss

    • Hemorrhage (subacute) shows high signal intensity due to methemoglobin

T2-weighted images:

  • Cortex: Intermediate-to-bright signal

  • White matter: Darker than cortex

  • CSF: Very bright

  • Lesions:

    • Edema and gliosis: bright hyperintensity

    • Demyelination or infarction: hyperintense with poor gray-white differentiation

    • Chronic changes: gliotic cortical thickening with signal heterogeneity

FLAIR (Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery):

  • Normal cortex: Intermediate gray signal

  • White matter: Slightly darker

  • CSF: Suppressed (dark)

  • Pathology:

    • Edema, gliosis, or demyelination: Bright hyperintense regions within the superior frontal gyrus

    • Cortical dysplasia or low-grade glioma: Subtle hyperintense thickening with indistinct cortical margins

    • Infarct or encephalomalacia: Mixed hyperintense and hypointense zones with sulcal enlargement

DWI (Diffusion-Weighted Imaging):

  • Normal cortex: Isointense to brain parenchyma

  • Acute infarction: Bright (restricted diffusion) with corresponding ADC hypointensity

  • Tumor necrosis or abscess: May show variable diffusion restriction depending on cellularity or pus content

  • Cytotoxic edema: Prominent restricted diffusion during acute ischemia

T1 Fat-Saturated Post-Contrast:

  • Normal cortex: Minimal enhancement

  • Enhancing lesions:

    • High-grade tumors or metastases: Intense heterogeneous enhancement with mass effect and surrounding edema

    • Meningioma: Uniform dural-based enhancement along convexity

    • Infective or inflammatory lesions: Patchy or ring enhancement with perilesional FLAIR hyperintensity

    • Post-surgical or radiation changes: Irregular enhancement along margins of resection cavity

CT Appearance

Non-Contrast CT:

  • Gray matter: Intermediate density, slightly denser than white matter

  • White matter: Lower attenuation

  • CSF spaces: Hypodense

  • Pathology:

    • Acute hemorrhage: Hyperdense area in the superior frontal region

    • Infarct: Hypodense cortical-subcortical area with loss of gray-white differentiation

    • Calcified lesions (oligodendroglioma, meningioma): Focal high-density deposits

    • Chronic infarct or atrophy: Cortical thinning and widened sulci

Post-Contrast CT:

  • Normal cortex: Minimal or no enhancement

  • Enhancing lesions:

    • Meningioma: Intense, homogeneous enhancement adjacent to inner table of skull

    • Metastasis or glioma: Irregular, ring, or nodular enhancement with surrounding hypodense edema

    • Infection or abscess: Peripheral rim enhancement with central low attenuation

    • Subacute infarct: May show mild gyral enhancement in reperfusion phase

MRI images

Superior occipital gyrus mri 3t axial image

MRI images

Superior occipital gyrus mri 3t sagittal image

CT image

Superior occipital gyrus CT sagittal cross sectional anatomy radiology image -img-00001-00001