What Are Lateral Ventricles?
In spite of the common connotations of the word “ventricles,” the lateral ventricles are not located in the heart, but in the brain. The brain is largely made up of dense collections of nerve tissue, and the brain’s ventricular system is connected to the central canal of the spinal cord and helps circulate necessary cerebrospinal fluid throughout the brain. This fluid serves to protect the brain, and it allows the brain to “float” within the skull, thus reducing its relative weight. The lateral ventricles are located within the brain, with one ventricle located in each hemisphere. They are roughly horseshoe shaped, with a central region as well as anterior, or frontal, posterior, or rear, and inferior, or temporal, horns. This curved shape causes the lateral ventricles to pass through all four lobes of the brain — the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital.
