Cerebellum: Anatomical Regions

The cerebellum is positioned inferior to the posterior part of the cerebrum.

As seen in the posterosuperior view, a thin median structure called the vermis divides the cerebellum into two hemispheres.

These two hemispheres are further partitioned into the anterior and posterior lobes separated by the primary fissure.

Inferiorly, the cerebellum shows the flocculonodular lobe, separated from the posterior lobe by the posterolateral fissure.

A sagittal section of the cerebellum reveals the outer cerebellar cortex that contains gray matter arranged in parallel folds referred to as folia.

The cortex also has a layer of heavily branched neurons called Purkinje cells.

The tracts of white matter, commonly known as the arbor vitae,  are present below the folia.

The cerebellum connects to the brainstem by three pairs of bundled white matter tracts called the superior, middle, and inferior cerebellar peduncles.

The superior peduncles connect the cerebellum with the midbrain, diencephalon, and cerebrum.

The middle peduncles mainly carry the motor impulses from the pons to the cerebellum.

The inferior peduncles pass sensory information to the cerebellum, mainly from the medulla.