Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Neuroanatomy, Occipital Lobe

Amna Rehman  1 , Yasir Al Khalili  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Neuroanatomy, Occipital Lobe

Amna Rehman et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

The occipital lobe is the smallest of the four lobes of the cerebral hemisphere. It is present posterior to the parietal and temporal lobes. Thus, it forms the caudal part of the brain. Relative to the skull, the lobe lies underneath the occipital bone. It rests on the tentorium cerebelli, which separates it from the cerebellum. The paired occipital lobes are separated from each other by a cerebral fissure. The posteriormost part of the occipital lobe is known as the occipital pole.

The occipital lobe is primarily responsible for visual processing. It contains the primary and association visual cortex.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Amna Rehman declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Yasir Al Khalili declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Flores LP. Occipital lobe morphological anatomy: anatomical and surgical aspects. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2002 Sep;60(3-A):566-71. - PubMed
    1. Alves RV, Ribas GC, Párraga RG, de Oliveira E. The occipital lobe convexity sulci and gyri. J Neurosurg. 2012 May;116(5):1014-23. - PubMed
    1. Stiles J, Jernigan TL. The basics of brain development. Neuropsychol Rev. 2010 Dec;20(4):327-48. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patel A, Biso GMNR, Fowler JB. StatPearls [Internet] StatPearls Publishing; Treasure Island (FL): 2023. Jul 24, Neuroanatomy, Temporal Lobe. - PubMed
    1. Marinković SV, Milisavljević MM, Lolić-Draganić V, Kovacević MS. Distribution of the occipital branches of the posterior cerebral artery. Correlation with occipital lobe infarcts. Stroke. 1987 Jul-Aug;18(4):728-32. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources