The cistern of lateral cerebral fossa (also cistern of the lateral sulcus, or Sylvian cistern) is an elongated

subarachnoid cistern The subarachnoid cisterns are spaces formed by openings in the subarachnoid space, an anatomic space in the meninges of the brain. The space is situated between the two meninges, the arachnoid mater and the pia mater. These cisterns are filled w ...

formed by

arachnoid mater The arachnoid mater (or simply arachnoid) is one of the three meninges, the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is so named because of its resemblance to a spider web. The arachnoid mater is a derivative of the neural cr ...

bridging the

lateral sulcus The lateral sulcus (or lateral fissure, also called Sylvian fissure, after Franciscus Sylvius) is the most prominent sulcus (neuroanatomy), sulcus of each cerebral hemisphere in the human brain. The lateral sulcus (neuroanatomy), sulcus is a deep ...

between the frontal, temporal, and parietal opercula. The cistern contains the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and its branches, and the two (i.e. superficial and deep) middle cerebral veins (MCVs). The cistern is subdivided into three compartments: the superficial opercular compartment (SOC) (most superficial), deep opercular compartment (DOC) (intermediate), and cisternal compartment (CC) (deepest). The SOC contains the superficial MCV, and distal branches of the MCA; the DOC contains the M3 segment of the MCA; the CC contains the M1 and M2 segments of MCA, and the deep MCV.

References

Meninges {{neuroanatomy-stub