SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Mersin Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 19 Sayı: 2

Terminological variability of the optic radiation: a structured analysis across neurosurgery, neuroanatomy and radiology

Optik radyasyonun terminolojik değişkenliği: nöroşirürji, nöroanatomi ve radyoloji alanlarında yapılandırılmış bir analiz

Fırat Narin(Mersin City Hospital Training and Research Hospital)0000-0002-5985-4460
Özlem Elvan(MERSIN UNIVERSITY, INSTITUTE OF HEALTH SCIENCES)0000-0002-5796-4279
Pages
389–398
Publication Date
2026-08-14
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These discrepancies highlight the need for complementary modifications that preserve standardized terminology while acknowledging the practical value of clinically oriented and relevant descriptors.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Background: Although the visual pathways are among the most well-defined structuresof the central nervous system, their terminology remains heterogeneous across the diciplines of neuroanatomy, neuroradiology, and neurosurgery.
📊
Key Findings & Data:A total of 78 records were initially identified, and 42 studies meeting the predefined inclusion criteria were included in the analysis.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:These discrepancies highlight the need for complementary modifications that preserve standardized terminology while acknowledging the practical value of clinically oriented and relevant descriptors.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:2021 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Optik radyasyon · görme yolları · terminoloji

Abstract

Background: Although the visual pathways are among the most well-defined structuresof the central nervous system, their terminology remains heterogeneous across the diciplines of neuroanatomy, neuroradiology, and neurosurgery. Advances in white matter-based approaches have further diversified the terminology used to describe the optic radiation and its surrounding fiber architecture. Methods: This study was designed as a descriptive analysis of the literature, incorporating a structured qualitative evaluation of terminological usage. Searches were performed in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, supplemented by a manual screening of reference lists. A total of 78 records were initially identified, and 42 studies meeting the predefined inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Terminology was evaluated according to anatomical context, disciplinary perspective, historical evolution, and compatibility with the Terminologia Neuroanatomica 2021. Results: The optic radiation was most frequently defined by the terms "optic radiation", "geniculocalcarine tract", and "geniculostriate pathway", while the eponym "Meyer's loop" was predominantly used to denote the anterior segment. Segmental descriptors and constructs such as the “sagittal stratum” were inconsistently applied across disciplines. Eponym-based terms were more common in neurosurgical and neuroradiological studies, whereas descriptive terminology predominated in neuroanatomy. Several widely used terms lacked direct equivalents in the Terminologia Neuroanatomica 2021, while standardized terminology was not consistently adopted in clinical practice. Conclusion: A discrepancy exists between standardized terminology and clinical usage, reflecting both the complexity of white matter organization and differences in disciplinary perspectives. These discrepancies highlight the need for complementary modifications that preserve standardized terminology while acknowledging the practical value of clinically oriented and relevant descriptors.

Özet

Amaç: Görme yolları, merkezi sinir sisteminin en iyi tanımlanmış yapılarından biri olmasına rağmen, terminolojisi nöroanatomi, nöroradyoloji ve nöroşirürji disiplinleri arasında heterojenliğini korumaktadır. Beyaz cevher temelli yaklaşımlardaki ilerlemeler, optik radyasyon ve çevresindeki lif mimarisini tanımlamak için kullanılan terminolojiyi daha da çeşitlendirmiştir. Yöntem: Bu çalışma, literatürün tanımlayıcı, kesitsel bir analizi olarak planlanmış ve terminolojik kullanımın yapılandırılmış niteliksel değerlendirmesini içermiştir. Taramalar PubMed ve Google Scholar veri tabanlarında gerçekleştirilmiş, ayrıca referans listeleri manuel olarak incelenmiştir. Başlangıçta 78 kayıt belirlenmiş, önceden tanımlanmış dahil edilme kriterlerini karşılayan 42 çalışma analize dahil edilmiştir. Terminoloji, anatomik bağlam, disipliner yaklaşım, tarihsel gelişim ve Terminologia Neuroanatomica 2021 ile uyumluluk açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Optik radyasyon en sık “optik radyasyon”, “genikülokalkarin trakt” ve “genikülostriat yol” terimleriyle tanımlanırken, “Meyer halkası” eponimi çoğunlukla anterior segmenti ifade etmek için kullanılmıştır. Segmental tanımlamalar ve “sagittal stratum” gibi yapılar disiplinler arasında tutarsız şekilde kullanılmıştır. Eponim temelli terimler nöroşirürji ve nöroradyoloji çalışmalarında daha sık görülürken, tanımlayıcı terminoloji nöroanatomi alanında baskındır. Yaygın olarak kullanılan bazı terimlerin Terminologia Neuroanatomica 2021’de doğrudan karşılığı bulunmazken, standart terminolojinin klinik pratikte tutarlı biçimde benimsenmediği gözlenmiştir. Sonuç: Standartlaştırılmış terminoloji ile klinik kullanım arasında, beyaz cevher organizasyonunun karmaşıklığı ve disiplinler arası yaklaşım farklılıklarını yansıtan bir uyumsuzluk bulunmaktadır. Bu farklılıklar, standart terminolojiyi korurken klinik açıdan anlamlı ve pratik tanımlamaları da içeren tamamlayıcı düzenlemelere ihtiyaç olduğunu göstermektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Narin, F., Elvan, Ö., *, F. N. (2026). Terminological variability of the optic radiation: a structured analysis across neurosurgery, neuroanatomy and radiology. Mersin Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 19 Sayı: 2, 389–398. https://doi.org/10.26559/mersinsbd.1940355

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (36)

  1. Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology (FIPAT). Terminologia Neuroanatomica. 2021. Available from: https://ifaa.net/committees/anatomical-terminology-fipat/fipat-ifaa-terminologies/
  2. Mandelstam SA et al. Challenges of the anatomy and diffusion tensor tractography of the Meyer loop. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2012;33:1204–1210. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A2652
  3. Thudium MO et al. The basal temporal approach for mesial temporal surgery: sparing the Meyer loop with navigated diffusion tensor tractography. Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown) 2010;67:ONS385–ONS390. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e3181f7424b
  4. Nilsson D et al. Intersubject variability in the anterior extent of the optic radiation assessed by tractography. Epilepsy Res 2007;77:11–16. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2007.07.012
  5. Ebeling U et al. Neurosurgical topography of the optic radiation in the temporal lobe. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 1988;92:29–36. doi:10.1007/BF01401969
  6. Winston GP et al. Optic radiation tractography and vision in anterior temporal lobe resection. Ann Neurol 2012;71:334–341. doi: 10.1002/ana.22619
  7. Choi C et al. Meyer’s loop and the optic radiations in the transsylvian approach to the mediobasal temporal lobe. Oper Neurosurg 2006;59(Suppl 4):ONS228. doi: 10.1227/01.NEU.0000223374.69144.81
  8. Goga C et al. The anatomy of Meyer’s loop revisited: changing the anatomical paradigm of the temporal loop based on evidence from fiber microdissection. J Neurosurg 2015;122:1253–1262. doi: 10.3171/2014.12.JNS14281
  9. Wang P, et al. The basal turning point of optic radiation (bTPOR): The location of optic radiation in the cerebral basal surface. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2021;203:106562. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106562
  10. Párraga RG et al. Microsurgical anatomy of the optic radiation and related fibers in 3-dimensional images. Neurosurgery 2012;71(Suppl 1):ONS160-ONS172. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e3182556fde
  11. Barton JJS et al. The field defects of anterior temporal lobectomy: a quantitative reassessment of Meyer’s loop. Brain 2005;128:2123-2133. doi: 10.1093/brain/awh544
  12. Koutsarnakis C et al. Defining the relationship of the optic radiation to the roof and floor of the ventricular atrium: a focused microanatomical study. J Neurosurg 2019;130:1728-1739. doi:10.3171/2017.10.JNS171749.
  13. Rodrigues EM et al. Anatomy of the optic radiations from the white matter fiber dissection perspective: a literature review applied to practical anatomical dissection. Surg Neurol Int 2022;13:309. doi: 10.25259/SNI_1157_2021
  14. Sincoff EH et al. White matter fiber dissection of the optic radiations of the temporal lobe and implications for surgical approaches to the temporal horn. J Neurosurg 2004;101:739-746. doi: 10.3171/jns.2004.101.5.0739
  15. Putnam TJ. Studies on the central visual system: IV. The details of the organization of the geniculostriate system in man. Arch Neurol Psychiatry 1926;16:683-702. doi:10.1001/archneurpsyc.1926.02200300003001
  16. Peltier J et al. Optic radiations: a microsurgical anatomical study. J Neurosurg 2006;105:294-300. doi: 10.3171/jns.2006.105.2.294
  17. Van Buren JM and Baldwin M. The architecture of the optic radiation in the temporal lobe of man. Brain. 1958;81:15–40. doi: 10.1093/brain/81.1.15
  18. Babb TL et al. Asymmetry and ventral course of the human geniculostriate pathway as determined by hippocampal visual evoked potentials and subsequent visual field defects after temporal lobectomy. Exp Brain Res 1982;47:317-328. doi: 10.1007/BF00239351
  19. Peuskens D et al. Anatomy of the anterior temporal lobe and the frontotemporal region demonstrated by fiber dissection. Neurosurgery 2004;55:1174–1184. doi:10.1227/01.NEU.0000140843.62311.24.
  20. Kier EL et al. MR imaging of the temporal stem: anatomic dissection tractography of the uncinate fasciculus, inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus, and Meyer’s loop of the optic radiation. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2004;25:677–691.
  21. Dreessen de Gervai P et al. Tractography of Meyer’s Loop asymmetries. Epilepsy Res 2014;108:872–882. doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.03.006. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.03.006
  22. Goga C et al. Clinical applications of Meyer’s loop tractography. Acta Med Transilv 2014;2(4):187–190.
  23. Gülsuna B et al. Revisiting the microsurgical anatomy of the sagittal stratum and surgical implications: fiber microdissection and tractography study. J Neurosurg 2024;141:1433–1446. doi:10.3171/2024.2.JNS232671.
  24. Di Carlo DT et al. Microsurgical anatomy of the sagittal stratum. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2019;161:2319–2327. doi: 10.1007/s00701-019-04019-8
  25. Maldonado IL et al. Composition and organization of the sagittal stratum in the human brain: a fiber dissection study. J Neurosurg 2021;135:1214–1222. doi: 10.3171/2020.7.JNS192846
  26. Berro DH et al. New insights into the anatomo-functional architecture of the right sagittal stratum and its surrounding pathways: an axonal electrostimulation mapping study. Brain Struct Funct 2021;226:425–441. doi: 10.1007/s00429-020-02186-4
  27. Hosoya T et al. MRI anatomy of white matter layers around the trigone of the lateral ventricle. Neuroradiology 1998;40:477–482. doi: 10.1007/s002340050629
  28. Agrawal A et al. Josef Klingler’s models of white matter tracts: influences on neuroanatomy, neurosurgery, and neuroimaging. Neurosurgery 2011;69:238–254. doi: 10.1227/NEU.0b013e318214ab79
  29. Aydin AE et al. Microsurgical anatomy of the auditory radiations: revealing the enigmatic acoustic pathway from a surgical viewpoint. J Neurosurg 2023;138:1443–1456. doi: 10.3171/2022.7.JNS22247
  30. Jäger HR. Loss of vision: imaging the visual pathways. Eur Radiol 2005;15(3):501–510. doi:10.1007/s00330-004-2638-0
  31. Swienton DJ, Thomas AG. The visual pathway—functional anatomy and pathology. Semin Ultrasound CT MRI 2014;35(5):487–503. doi:10.1053/j.sult.2014.06.007
  32. Meesters S et al. Stability metrics for optic radiation tractography: Towards damage prediction after resective surgery. J Neurosci Methods 2017;288:34–44. doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.05.029
  33. Ortiz O, Flores RA. Clinical and radiologic evaluation of optic pathway lesions. Semin Ultrasound CT MRI 1998;19(3):225–239. doi: 10.1016/s0887-2171(98)90009-9
  34. Lilja Y et al. Visualizing Meyer’s loop: A comparison of deterministic and probabilistic tractography. Epilepsy Res 2014;108(3):481–490. doi:10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2014.01.017
  35. Yamamoto T et al. Tractography to depict three layers of visual field trajectories to the calcarine gyri. Am J Ophthalmol 2005;140(5):781–785. doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2005.05.018
  36. Guenot M et al. MRI assessment of the anatomy of optic radiations after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 1999;73(1–4):84–87. doi: 10.1159/000029760