The atlas of myelin-stained sections through the central nervous system is in three planes: transverse, horizontal, and sagittal. (See Figure 1–17 for schematic views of these planes of sections.) Transverse sections through the cerebral hemispheres and diencephalon are termed coronal sections because they are approximately parallel to the coronal suture. These sections also cut the brain stem, but parallel to its long axis. In addition, three sections are cut in planes oblique to the transverse and horizontal sections.

In this atlas, each level through the central nervous system is printed without labeled structures as well as with labels on an accompanying photograph (printed at reduced contrast to preserve the essence of the structure). Typically, the border of a structure is indicated either when the structure’s location is extremely important for understanding the functional consequences of brain trauma or when the structure is clearly depicted on the section and it is didactically important to emphasize the border. Axons of cranial nerves and primary afferent fibers are indicated by bold lines to distinguish them from the other fibers.