Brodmann areas

the numbered areas (1-47) into which a map of the cerebral cortex may conveniently be divided for descriptive purposes, based upon the arrangement of neurones seen in stained sections under the microscope. On the map area 4, for example, corresponds to primary motor cortex, while the primary visual cortex comes into area 17.

K. Brodmann (1868-1918), German neurologist

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areas of the cerebral cortex distinguished by hypothesized differences in the arrangement of their six cellular layers and identified by numbers; although the histologic basis is in dispute, the topographic numbering is widely used as a descriptor for mapping cortical locations that control different functions of the nervous system and the body.

Lateral view of the cerebral hemisphere, showing some of the Brodmann areas.