Atlas of Human Central Nervous System Development -5 Volume Set: The Human Brain During the Second Trimester

The brain in the second trimester, the subject of Volume 3, is nearing anatomical maturity throughout the brainstem. In contrast, the neurogenesis and neuronal migration are still in progress in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Consequently, the authors chose to focus on the migration, sojourning, and settling of the neuronal populations belonging to these immature structures. These observations can help researchers develop a better understanding of normal brain development at this formative stage. In this volume, the authors offer consideration of a new concept regarding human cortical development: the identification of the stratified transitional field (STF), which continues to play an important role in later stages. Until recently regarded as simply an intermediate and transitional layer of little significance, modern imaging techniques have shown that it is in the STF where cortical neural connections are first specified. Among other salient points, the development of this field may well bring to light those disruptions during development that lead to cerebral palsy. The first volume in this series presents illustrations of structural development and includes clearly labeled photographs and extensive quantitative comparisons. Overview plates, unabbreviated terms, animal experimental data, glossary of terms, and 3D color images are also included. The second volume of this atlas focuses on the development of the human brain during the third trimester, and features grayscale photographs of sections of the brains cut in three cardinal plane planes of normal specimens from gestational week 26-37. The third volulme provides a pictorial record of the maturning brain at low and high magnification, accompanied by a structural analysis based on animal experiments