Space
Lateral ventricles
CSF cavities shaped around deep cerebral structures
High-yield
Each lateral ventricle communicates with the third through its own interventricular foramen. Its walls change along the course, so a single boundary list does not describe every horn.
Overview
Each cerebral hemisphere contains a lateral ventricle with a frontal horn, body, atrium, occipital horn and temporal horn. The arrangement curves around deep gray matter and follows the hemisphere into its lobes. Choroid plexus occupies the body, atrium and temporal horn, while the frontal and occipital horns normally lack it.
Reference facts
- Boundaries
- Frontal horn/body: corpus callosum above, septum pellucidum medially and caudate along the lateral region. Thalamus and fornix relate to the body; hippocampus forms much of the temporal-horn floor. Boundaries differ in the atrium and occipital horn
- Contents
- CSF and choroid plexus. The caudate, thalamus, fornix and hippocampus are neighboring wall structures, not loose contents of the ventricular fluid
- Communications
- Each opens into the third ventricle through a foramen of Monro; there is normally no direct opening between the two lateral ventricles
Clinical correlation
A lesion near an interventricular foramen can obstruct drainage from one lateral ventricle. A colloid cyst may obstruct one or both foramina, and more distal obstruction commonly enlarges both ventricles. Ventricular asymmetry can also be a normal variant, so asymmetry alone does not prove obstruction.
Frequently asked questions
What are the boundaries of the lateral ventricles?
Frontal horn/body: corpus callosum above, septum pellucidum medially and caudate along the lateral region. Thalamus and fornix relate to the body; hippocampus forms much of the temporal-horn floor. Boundaries differ in the atrium and occipital horn.
What do the lateral ventricles contain?
CSF and choroid plexus. The caudate, thalamus, fornix and hippocampus are neighboring wall structures, not loose contents of the ventricular fluid.
What do the lateral ventricles communicate with?
Each opens into the third ventricle through a foramen of Monro; there is normally no direct opening between the two lateral ventricles.