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About Who?
Written By Summer Pan
Edited by Saif Alam
Hey there.
I know you’re tired. I know you stayed up late last night to finish that lecture; or to go to a rave.
I know it’s 1am and you’ve been staring at your +500 overdue Ankis for the past hour, eyes glazing over, mind wandering into the darkness and among the endless stars.
I know all of this because I’m in your head. Now, why don’t you take a break?
Let’s play a little game: Guess Who?
Ready? Let’s begin.
1. Supply
My first hint is that there are three major towns I frequently travel through when journeying deep into the cerebral country. Let’s call them Town 1, Town 2, and Town 3 because I want to describe them to you, rather than tell you their names – trust me, it’s more fun this way.
Town 1 is large and, dare I say, rather bulbous. It’s famous for intrahemispheric trading with the nearby frontal and prefrontal provinces which, through corticostriatal connections, enable its villagers to plan your behaviour and movement and keep your factories of memory and executive function running smoothly. Without Town 1, you’d be flailing everywhere.
Town 1 lies lateral to the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. Have you seen the lateral ventricles before? It’s quite beautiful – a lake of cerebrospinal fluid that drains through the interventricular foramen to reach another body of cerebrospinal fluid, the 3rd ventricle.
Town 2, on the other hand, extends towards the frontal lobe and is part of a V-shaped city. My favourite thing to do in Town 2 is to dance with the frontopontine fibres and the anterior thalamic radiation. It is truly a really rewarding feeling to have white matter friends appreciate you for who you are.
Town 2 is located lateral to Town 1, medial to Town 3, and adjacent to the lateral ventricle. I find it super convenient to travel between them – almost as convenient as the bridge between Wallace Wurth to the Health Translation Hub.
Town 3 holds good memories too. It’s a round, subcortical tourist destination that you absolutely have to visit if you’re in the (brain) region; just check ‘TripAdvisor: Brainstorm Edition’ and it’ll show you several cross-section maps of the best attractions! I often volunteer in Town 3 to help its villagers regulate motor control, articulate speech, and learn new skills.
Although Town 3 is geo-anatomically separated from Town 1 by Town 2, they remain connected inferiorly via small bridges of grey matter. You can watch the little fish of efferent signals swim by without a care in the world.
2. Personality
My second hint is that I’m a large perforating branch. Not to be cocky, but I’m the LARGEST perforating branch out of my sibling branches. Also, I enjoy confusing medical students by travelling backwards and laterally 🙂
3. Ancestry
My third hint is my family tree. My papa is the anterior cerebral artery; he likes to jog medially through the interhemispheric fissure after visiting his pet CoW and bestie Bruce Willis. My grandpapa is the internal carotid artery, and if you were to take his history and ask about exercise, he’ll tell you that he takes a winding path up through the carotid canal and into the cavernous sinus every morning. We’re all in pretty good shape and involved in the trade of delivering nutrients and oxygen around the cerebral country.
My first descendent – can you believe it? – goes lub dub.
Have you guessed who I am?
That’s all the hints you get. I hope you’ve figured it out by now; the EOC won’t be as lenient as I have been.
Maybe I’ll give you the names of Town 1, Town 2, and Town 3 first. I’m feeling kind today.
Town 1 is the head of the caudate nucleus, Town 2 is the anterior limb of the internal capsule, Town 3 is the putamen.
So, guess who?
Some call me Heubner. The recurrent artery of Heubner, if you were to use my full name.
Others know me as the medial striate artery.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about me. How about you?
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