The anterolateral limit of the occipital lobe was studied in anatomical specimens and with neuroimaging. Seven human cadaver heads, 103 normal CT-scan and 104 MRJ of the brain were studied. There was a fold of the dura mater on the transverse sinus (preoccipital tentorial plica) and a bony protuberance related directly to the preoccipital notch. It was also determined the mean distance between the parieto-occipital sulcus and the lambdoid suture. In the imaging studies, especially magnetic resonance, it was possible to identify the preoccipital notch and/or a protuberance in the cranial vault related to this notch, besides the parieto-occipital sulcus and lambdoid suture, making possible, therefore, the definition of the anterolateral limit of the occipital lobe.
occipital lobe; neuroanatomy; CT scan; magnetic resonance imaging