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Review
. 2022 Apr;45(2):979-988.
doi: 10.1007/s10143-021-01635-w. Epub 2021 Sep 8.

The historical evolution of the fornix and its terminology: a review

Eray Dogan  1   2 , Abuzer Gungor  2   3 , Fikret Dogulu  1 , Uğur Türe  4
Affiliations
Review

The historical evolution of the fornix and its terminology: a review

Eray Dogan et al. Neurosurg Rev. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

The historical evolution of the fornix has not been sufficiently reviewed in the literature. In this article, we follow this evolution from the first mention of the fornix in animal dissections of the second century AD, to the legalization of cadaver dissection in the 1300 s, to the introduction of neural staining techniques and the microscope in the seventeenth century, to today. We summarize the focus of fornix studies on memory to reveal its relationship with the hippocampus. We then cover the detection of the fornix and its neural connections noninvasively with the advancement of radiological imaging techniques. Finally, we discuss the prominence of the fornix as a target for deep brain stimulation in Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic brain injury memory disorders.

Keywords: Anatomical terminology; Fornix; History of neurosurgery.

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