The mid-fusiform sulcus is a shallow sulcus that divides the

fusiform gyrus The fusiform gyrus, also known as the ''lateral occipitotemporal gyrus'','' ''is part of the temporal lobe and occipital lobe in Brodmann area 37. The fusiform gyrus is located between the lingual gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus above, and the inf ...

into lateral and medial partitions. Functionally, the MFS divides both large-scale functional maps and identifies fine-scale functional regions such as the anterior portion of the

fusiform face area The fusiform face area (FFA, meaning spindle-shaped face area) is a part of the human visual system (while also activated in people blind from birth) that is specialized for facial recognition. It is located in the inferior temporal cortex (I ...

Anatomy

Cytoarchitectonically, the lateral and medial sides of the MFS are dissociable. The anterior and posterior portion of the MFS also have different long-range connections. The

vertical occipital fasciculus The vertical occipital fasciculus is a fascicle of white matter running vertically in the rear of the brain. It is found at least in primates. It "is the only major fiber bundle connecting dorsolateral and ventrolateral visual cortex." Early d ...

terminates in the posterior aspects of the MFS, while the

arcuate fasciculus The arcuate fasciculus (AF) is a bundle of axons that generally connects the Broca's area and the Wernicke's area in the brain. It is an association fiber tract connecting caudal temporal cortex and inferior frontal lobe. ''Fasciculus arcuatus'' ...

terminates in the anterior portions of the MFS.

History

The mid-fusiform sulcus was first identified in 1896 by

Gustav Retzius Prof Magnus Gustaf (or Gustav) Retzius FRSFor HFRSE MSA (17 October 1842 – 21 July 1919) was a Swedish physician and anatomist who dedicated a large part of his life to researching the histology of the sense organs and nervous system. Life ...

. Retzius is known for many other discoveries such as Cajal-Retzius cells. He first identified the MFS as the sulcus sagittalis gyri fusiformis. Since his label, there have been several other proposed labels, but the MFS nomenclature is the most widely accepted in present day.

References

{{Reflist Sulci (neuroanatomy)