Cerebral aqueduct (of Sylvius)
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Citation:
Jones J, Howden W, Hacking C, et al. Cerebral aqueduct (of Sylvius). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 14 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-5779
rID:
5779
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At the time the article was created Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
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At the time the article was last revised Jeremy Jones had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
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Systems:
Sections:
Synonyms:
- Central aqueduct (of Sylvius)
- Aqueduct of Sylvius
- Cerebral aqueduct
The cerebral aqueduct (of Sylvius) is the structure within the brainstem that connects the third ventricle to the fourth.
On this page:
Gross anatomy
The cerebral aqueduct is located within the midbrain, connecting the third and fourth ventricles and surrounded by periaqueductal grey matter (PAG), with the tectum of the midbrain located posteriorly and the tegmentum anteriorly. It is roughly 1-2 mm in diameter, with common descriptions separating it into pars anterior, an antrum and pars posterior.
It is filled with CSF, and its obstruction leads to obstructive hydrocephalus with dilatation of the lateral and third ventricles.
History and etymology
Franciscus Sylvius (1614-1672) was a Dutch physician and anatomist, after which the duct of Sylvius and the Sylvian fissure are eponymously named.
Related pathology
See also
Quiz questions
error
References
- 1. Susan Standring. Gray's Anatomy. (2020) ISBN: 9780702077050 - Google Books
- 2. Michael Schünke, Erik Schulte, Udo Schumacher et al. Thieme Atlas of Anatomy. (2010) ISBN: 9781604062908 - Google Books
Incoming Links
Articles:
- Third ventricle
- Third ventriculostomy
- Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
- Chiari II malformation
- Rhomboid fossa (brainstem)
- Ascending transtentorial herniation
- Ciliary muscle
- Central nervous system embryology
- Periaqueductal grey matter
- Sagittal midline of the brain (an approach)
- Kinked brainstem
- Medical abbreviations and acronyms (A)
- Posterior commissure
- Central herniation
- Rosette-forming glioneuronal tumour
- Fourth ventricle
- Tegmentum
- Velocity encoding
- Papillary tumour of the pineal region
- Pineal cyst
Cases:
- Ruptured basilar tip aneurysm
- Pineal region glioblastoma IDH-wildtype
- Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS)
- Obstructive hydrocephalus
- Lissencephaly type II
- Dandy-Walker malformation with callosal dysgenesis
- Meningioma - pineal region
- Supratentorial ependymoma
- Aqueduct stenosis with spontaneous 3rd ventriculostomy
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Bilateral temporal arachnoid cysts type III
- Dandy-Walker malformation
- Aqueductal web
- Triventricular hydrocephalus due to aqueductal web
- Vein of Galen malformation (adult presentation)
- Aqueductal stenosis due to membranous occlusion
- Arachnoid cyst with secondary obstructive hydrocephalus
- Brain ventricle anatomy (illustration)
- Ependymoma - MRS
- Superior medullary velum
Multiple choice questions:
Related articles: Anatomy: Brain
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brain
- grey matter
- white matter
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cerebrum
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cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
- cerebral lobes and gyri
- frontal lobe
- parietal lobe
-
occipital lobe
- occipital pole
- lingual gyrus
- fusiform gyrus (Brodmann area 37)
- calcarine (visual) cortex
- cuneus
- temporal lobe
- basal forebrain
- limbic system
- insula
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cerebral sulci and fissures (A-Z)
- calcarine fissure
- callosal sulcus
- central (Rolandic) sulcus
- cingulate sulcus
- collateral sulcus
- inferior frontal sulcus
- inferior occipital sulcus
- inferior temporal sulcus
- interhemispheric fissure
- intraparietal sulcus
- lateral (Sylvian) sulcus
- lateral occipital sulcus
- marginal sulcus
- occipitotemporal sulcus
- olfactory sulcus
- paracentral sulcus
- paraolfactory sulcus
- parieto-occipital fissure
- posterior parolfactory sulcus
- precentral sulcus
- preoccipital notch
- postcentral sulcus
- rhinal sulcus
- rostral sulcus
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- cortical histology
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pituitary gland
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cerebral hemisphere (telencephalon)
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brainstem
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cerebellum (part of metencephalon)
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vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)
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cerebral veins
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superficial veins of the brain
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superficial veins of the brain
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deep veins of the brain
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- normal variants
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dural venous sinuses
- arteries
- glymphatic pathway
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