title: Surgical anatomy of the hippocampus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hippocampectomy is an efficient procedure for medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Nevertheless, hippocampus anatomy is complex, due to a deep location, and a complex structure. In this didactic paper, we propose a description of the hippocampus that should help neurosurgeons to feel at ease in this region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Embryological data was obtained from the literature, whereas adult anatomy was described after dissecting 8 human hemispheres (with and without vascular injection) and slicing 3 additional ones.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hippocampus is C-shaped and made of 2 rolled-up laminae, the cornu Ammonis and the gyrus dentatus. Its ventricular aspect is covered by the choroid plexus of the inferior horn excepted at the head level. Its cisternal aspect faces the mesencephalon from which it is limited by the transverse fissure. Its rostral part (head) curves dorso-caudally to form the uncus, located at the medial aspect of the temporal lobe. Its caudal part (tail) splits into the fimbria and the gyrus fasciolaris that respectively run ventral and dorsal to the corpus callosum, to become the fornix and indusium griseum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consequences of this complex anatomy are presented, and the authors stress the need for a subpial resection. Important landmarks are provided to avoid lesions of the surrounding structures.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'anatomie, université François-Rabelais de Tours, 10, boulevard Tonnellé, 37032 Tours cedex, France; Inserm U930, UMR « imagerie et cerveau », université François-Rabelais de Tours, 37032 Tours, France; Service de neurochirurgie, CHRU de Tours, 37044 Tours, France. Electronic address: christophe.destrieux@univ-tours.fr.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Destrieux
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bourry
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Velut
mesh_terms: D002831:Choroid Plexus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D020712:Fornix, Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Anatomie; Anatomy; Chirurgie de l’épilepsie; Epilepsy surgery; Hippocampe; Hippocampus