• 19 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Coronal Section of Brain With Labels: a Frontal Slice

Tap any part of the brain, cut from ear to ear, to read about it.

Coronal Section of Brain With Labels: a Frontal Slice

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Longitudinal fissure
  2. Cingulate gyrus
  3. Body of the corpus callosum
  4. Body of the lateral ventricle
  5. Third ventricle
  6. Hypothalamus
  7. Mammillary body
  8. Thalamus
  9. Caudate nucleus
  10. Internal capsule
  11. Putamen
  12. Globus pallidus
  13. Cerebral cortex (gray matter)
  14. Lateral sulcus
  15. Temporal lobe
  16. Amygdala
  17. Inferior horn of the lateral ventricle
  18. Hippocampus
  19. Optic tract

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the same deep parts in a level cut

All 19 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Down the midline 7

  1. Longitudinal fissure The deep groove between the two cerebral hemispheres.
  2. Cingulate gyrus The fold just above the corpus callosum.
  3. Body of the corpus callosum The middle stretch of the band joining the two hemispheres. It roofs the lateral ventricles.
  4. Body of the lateral ventricle The central part of the lateral ventricle, under the corpus callosum.
  5. Third ventricle A narrow slit on the midline between the two thalami.
  6. Hypothalamus The region below the thalamus, beside the third ventricle.
  7. Mammillary body One of two small round bodies on the underside of the brain.

Deep gray and white matter 5

  1. Thalamus A large egg-shaped mass of gray matter beside the third ventricle. It relays signals to and from the cortex.
  2. Caudate nucleus A curved nucleus that follows the lateral ventricle.
  3. Internal capsule A white-matter band between thalamus and lentiform nucleus.
  4. Putamen The outer part of the lens-shaped lentiform nucleus.
  5. Globus pallidus The inner part of the lentiform nucleus, toward the midline.

Edge, temporal lobe and base 7

  1. Cerebral cortex (gray matter) The folded outer layer of gray matter. White matter lies under it.
  2. Lateral sulcus The deep cleft above the temporal lobe. The insula lies at its bottom.
  3. Temporal lobe The lobe below the lateral sulcus.
  4. Amygdala An ovoid mass of gray matter deep in the temporal lobe.
  5. Inferior horn of the lateral ventricle The part of the lateral ventricle that runs into the temporal lobe.
  6. Hippocampus A curled ridge in the inferior horn's floor.
  7. Optic tract A band of sight fibers running back from the optic chiasm.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition, Coronal plane and the article on each structure, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronal_plane. (2) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (1918), The Fore-brain or Prosencephalon, https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/anatomy-of-the-human-body/4c-the-fore-brain-or-prosencephalon/. (3) Kenhub, Coronal sections of the brain, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/coronal-sections-of-the-brain. (4) Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Section 2, Chapter 1, https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter01.html. Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A coronal section is the brain cut from ear to ear, in the frontal plane. This coronal brain slice, labeled part by part, passes through the thalamus and is seen from the front. It is a drawing, not a scan.

Read the full guide

Midline first, then outward and down

Numbers 1 to 7 run down the midline: the longitudinal fissure, the cingulate gyrus, the body of the corpus callosum, the body of the lateral ventricle, the third ventricle, the hypothalamus and a mammillary body. Numbers 8 to 12 are the deep parts: the thalamus, the caudate nucleus, the internal capsule, the putamen and the globus pallidus. Number 13 is the cerebral cortex and 14 the lateral sulcus. Numbers 15 to 19 are the temporal lobe with its amygdala, inferior horn and hippocampus, and the optic tract on the base.

  • Find the two large round thalami first. The slit between them is the third ventricle; the slanting band outside each is the internal capsule.
  • The lateral ventricle shows twice on each side: its body under the corpus callosum and its inferior horn in the temporal lobe.

Questions and answers

What is a coronal section of the brain?

A cut in the coronal plane, which runs from side to side and divides the brain into a front part and a back part. This page draws the cut face as it looks from the front.

Is a frontal section of the brain the same as a coronal section?

Yes. Frontal plane is another name for the coronal plane, so a frontal section of the brain, a coronal cross section and a coronal slice are all the same cut.

What structures show in a coronal section through the thalamus?

On the midline the corpus callosum, the lateral ventricles and the third ventricle; beside them the thalamus, caudate nucleus, internal capsule, putamen and globus pallidus; and in each temporal lobe the hippocampus beside the inferior horn.

Where is the hippocampus in a coronal section?

Low in the temporal lobe, toward the midline. It is a curled ridge in the floor of the lateral ventricle's inferior horn. On this drawing the amygdala sits just above it.

More quizzes

Show 6 more

Browse Human Body Quizzes