• 20 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Axial Brain Labeled: a Horizontal Section

Tap a ring on the brain, cut level and seen from above, to read each part’s name.

Axial Brain Labeled: a Horizontal Section

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 20
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Longitudinal fissure
  2. Genu of the corpus callosum
  3. Septum pellucidum
  4. Fornix
  5. Third ventricle
  6. Splenium of the corpus callosum
  7. Head of the caudate nucleus
  8. Putamen
  9. Globus pallidus
  10. Thalamus
  11. Claustrum
  12. Anterior limb of the internal capsule
  13. Genu of the internal capsule
  14. Posterior limb of the internal capsule
  15. External capsule
  16. Cerebral cortex (gray matter)
  17. White matter
  18. Insula
  19. Anterior horn of the lateral ventricle
  20. Posterior horn of the lateral ventricle

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 whole of the ventricles this cut passes through

All 20 parts on the diagram

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Along the midline 6

  1. Longitudinal fissure The deep groove between the brain's two halves.
  2. Genu of the corpus callosum The bent front end of the corpus callosum. Its fibers fan forward into both frontal lobes.
  3. Septum pellucidum A thin sheet between the two anterior horns. It runs from the corpus callosum to the fornix.
  4. Fornix A curved bundle of fibers from the hippocampus. This cut passes through its two columns.
  5. Third ventricle The narrow fluid space on the midline, between the two thalami.
  6. Splenium of the corpus callosum The thick back end of the corpus callosum. Its fibers fan backward into both occipital lobes.

Deep gray matter 5

  1. Head of the caudate nucleus The wide front end of the caudate nucleus. It bulges into the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle.
  2. Putamen The outer part of the lentiform nucleus.
  3. Globus pallidus The inner part of the lentiform nucleus, medial to the putamen.
  4. Thalamus An egg-shaped mass beside the third ventricle. The posterior limb of the internal capsule runs along its outer side.
  5. Claustrum A thin sheet of gray matter just inside the insula.

White matter bands 4

  1. Anterior limb of the internal capsule The front arm of the V. It runs between the caudate nucleus's head and the lentiform nucleus.
  2. Genu of the internal capsule The bend of the V, where the two limbs meet.
  3. Posterior limb of the internal capsule The back arm of the V. It runs between thalamus and lentiform nucleus.
  4. External capsule A thin band of white matter between the putamen and the claustrum.

Edges and spaces 5

  1. Cerebral cortex (gray matter) The folded outer layer of gray matter.
  2. White matter The mass of nerve fibers under the cortex.
  3. Insula A patch of cortex hidden deep in the lateral sulcus.
  4. Anterior horn of the lateral ventricle The front end of the lateral ventricle, in the frontal lobe.
  5. Posterior horn of the lateral ventricle The back end of the lateral ventricle, in the occipital lobe.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition, Internal capsule, Corpus callosum, Septum pellucidum, Fornix (neuroanatomy), Third ventricle, Lateral ventricles, Longitudinal fissure, Insular cortex and Cerebral hemisphere, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_capsule. (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, Horizontal sections of the brain and Internal capsule, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/horizontal-sections-of-the-brain. (4) TeachMeAnatomy, The Cerebrum and The Basal Ganglia, https://teachmeanatomy.info/neuroanatomy/structures/cerebrum/. (5) Neuroscience Online, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Section 3, Chapter 4, https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s3/chapter04.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

An axial view of the brain is a level cut, seen from above. This drawing is an axial section through the thalamus, front at the top, with both halves alike. It is a drawing of the cut, not a scan.

Read the full guide

Midline first, then outward

Numbers 1 to 6 run down the midline: the longitudinal fissure, the genu of the corpus callosum, the septum pellucidum, the fornix, the third ventricle and the splenium. Numbers 7 to 11 are the deep gray matter: the head of the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the globus pallidus, the thalamus and the claustrum. Numbers 12 to 14 are the internal capsule, a striped V: anterior limb, genu, posterior limb. Number 15 is the external capsule. Numbers 16 to 20 are the cerebral cortex, the white matter, the insula and the anterior and posterior horns of the lateral ventricle.

  • Find the V first. The caudate head sits in front of it, the thalamus behind, and the putamen and globus pallidus in its open side.
  • Genu means knee. This cut has two: the bend of the corpus callosum and the bend of the internal capsule.

Questions and answers

Is an axial section of the brain the same as a horizontal section?

Yes. Both mean a level cut through the brain; transverse is a third word for it. This page shows the cut as a drawing, seen from above with the front of the brain at the top.

What are the three parts of the internal capsule?

The anterior limb, the genu and the posterior limb. In a level cut they form a V with its point toward the midline: the anterior limb in front, the posterior limb behind, and the genu at the bend.

Where is the insula on an axial view?

At the bottom of the deep groove in each side, the lateral sulcus. Going inward from the insula come the claustrum, the external capsule, the putamen and the globus pallidus.

Why does the lateral ventricle show in two places?

This cut passes through two of its horns. The anterior horn lies in the frontal lobe, beside the septum pellucidum. The posterior horn runs back into the occipital lobe.

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