Identification of pre- and postcentral gyri on CT and MR images on the basis of the medullary pattern of cerebral white matter.

The authors illustrate a new method to identify the pre- and postcentral gyri on computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images of the brain on the basis of the pattern of the medullary branches of the cerebral white matter. The most commonly used method to identify the gyri depends on recognition of the central sulcus by surface arrangement of the sulci. The two methods were compared by analysis of CT images of 104 subjects who had normal findings (age range, newborn to 60 years; 57 males and 47 females). The usefulness of the new method was also determined in angiographic studies of nine patients with space-occupying lesions. The method is especially helpful for identification of gyri on the lower level of the centrum semiovale and if space-occupying lesions are present that may result in a blurred depiction of sulci. Since MR imaging depicts the medullary branches more clearly than does CT, this new method should facilitate identification of the gyri with either modality.