basal ganglia

[Loren A. Evey]

In Article<4gfmtv$v62 at grapool30.rz.uni-frankfurt.de>, > > 
> > In Article<4gci8p$ime at grapool30.rz.uni-frankfurt.de>, 
> > > > I have a quick question, and I'm hoping someone can respond to me via 
> > 
> > > > email at stclair at cris.com.  Can the basal ganglia be seen on gross 
> > > > dissection?  How easily?   Thanks!
> > > > Connie
> > > Get real, get a textbook, and get questions like those off the net. 
> > Greetings from human gross anatomy!
> > > Helmut
> > 
> > The internal capsule and the relation to the two major nuclei is easily 
> > visible (i.c. is not part of the complex).  As you may have encountered, 
> > there are descrepancies in the brain areas included as "the" basal 
> > ganglia.  These differences reflect anatomy versus function.  Although 
> > much of this neuroanatomy is visible, you do not typicallly hear the 
> > phrase "Human Gross Neuroanatomy" in the States.  Dissection of the brain 
> > is done in courses of "Human Neuroanatomy."  Human Gross Anatomy usually 
> > passes the baton at the interface of skull foramina and meninges.
> > 
> > With the current wave of "relevance" sweeping the country (states), the 
> > basal ganglia are a great object of study.  There is a wealth of 
> > information pertaining to basic research and clinical applications.
> > 
> Sorry, I overreacted like the typical german academic asshole. But I was
> simply apalled by the nature of this question which - to me - sounded 
> like "Does the brain reside in the head? Any tentative answer welcome!"
> I mean, anatomists have been busting their asses since hundreds of years
> (in the case of the basal ganglia since Willis (17th century) to whom we owe 

> the first description) and up comes a current wave of "relevance" which,
> similar to the discussion about melatonin, is powered by sheer ignorance.
> Welcome to the 21st century and the Informationsuperhighway! Any dictionary
> would have done the job. 
>   
I agree with most of what you say.  Nevertheless, my Webster's is a little 
light on macroscopic examination of the basal ganglia.  I have no knowledge of 
the the person who wrote the original posting.  I considered that her tax 
dollars could be contributing to my salary.  I considered that she might be 
someone crazy enough to gamble on pursuing graduate education.  Thus, I 
thought a little public relations might be in order.  Who knows, she might 
become the next Aberta Einstein.