Postcentral sulcus
Sulcus postcentralis
The groove on the parietal lobe that runs behind and parallel to the central sulcus, forming the back edge of the postcentral gyrus.
At a glance
- English
- Postcentral sulcus
- Latin (TA2)
- Sulcus postcentralis
- System
- Brain and spinal cord
- Region
- Head
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the postcentral sulcus
The postcentral sulcus is a furrow on the lateral surface of the parietal lobe. It lies behind the central sulcus and follows a roughly parallel, oblique course from near the superior margin of the hemisphere down towards the lateral sulcus. Between the two grooves runs the postcentral gyrus, so the postcentral sulcus forms that gyrus's posterior boundary and separates it from the rest of the parietal lobe.
The sulcus is often broken into an upper and a lower segment, and its lower part usually stops short of the lateral sulcus. Near its middle it is commonly joined by the intraparietal sulcus, which runs back towards the occipital lobe and divides the parietal cortex behind the postcentral gyrus into a superior and an inferior parietal lobule. Above the junction the superior parietal lobule lies behind the postcentral sulcus; below it the supramarginal gyrus curves round the end of the lateral sulcus.
The cortex lining the front wall of the sulcus is the back part of the primary somatosensory strip, Brodmann area 2, which deals with the shape and texture of objects and with joint position. The back wall passes into the somatosensory association cortex of areas 5 and 7, where touch is combined with vision to guide reaching and grasping.
On MRI and at operation the postcentral sulcus, together with the intraparietal sulcus that meets it, is one of the landmarks used to find the central sulcus and so to locate the motor and sensory strips before surgery near them. Lesions in the cortex around it can cause difficulty recognising objects by touch on the opposite hand.
Function and supply
- Function
- Marks the border between primary somatosensory cortex and parietal association cortex, where touch and position sense are integrated for reaching and grasping.
- Blood supply
- Anterior parietal branches of the middle cerebral artery; its upper end from branches of the anterior cerebral artery.
Anthromica
See the postcentral sulcus where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
