The human cerebral cortex on MRI: value of the coronal plane

The evaluation of different cortical areas of the cerebral cortex has been analyzed using MRI of 50 normal subjects without any neurological symptoms. This analysis has been made with different spin echo and gradient echo in T1 or T2 in three different planes: horizontal, sagittal and coronal. The most accurate plane to define important cortical areas such as Broca area, Wernicke area, temporal cortex at the level of the superior temporal sulcus, angular gyrus, supra marginal gyrus, hippocampal and parahippocampal cortices as well as that of the parieto or temporo-occipital areas is the coronal plane. Evidently it must be correlated with the other orthogonal planes. To be compared with the main Atlas of Neuroanatomy these sections must be perpendicular or parallel to the plane passing through the anterior and posterior commissures. MRI of patients with neurological disorders must have, as a routine, a series of MR sections performed in the coronal plane, as well as in horizontal and sagittal ones. The coronal plane is certainly the most precise to evaluate these areas involved in language, memory, visuo spatial or behavioral functions. It must be always compared with the rest of the neuroradiological examination and correlated with the clinical neurological signs.