Corpus striatum

The corpus striatum (striated body) is a term used in a few different ways:


 * It is sometimes used as another term for the basal ganglia.


 * It may also refer to both the basal ganglia and internal capsule collectively.


 * It is part of the extrapyramidal motor system.


 * According to the 1917 version of Gray's Anatomy, it is the combination of the lentiform nucleus (also known as the lenticular nucleus) and the caudate nucleus


 * According to BrainInfo (see link in infobox) it is a part of the basal ganglia comprising the globus pallidus and striatum.


 * From lateral to medial, the corpus striatum is composed of the external capsule (white matter), the lentiform nucleus (gray matter), the internal capsule (white matter), and the caudate nucleus (gray matter). The alternating white and gray matter give it a striated appearance.

Details from Gray's anatomy
The corpus striatum has received its name from the striped appearance which a section of its anterior part presents, in consequence of diverging white fibers being mixed with the gray substance which forms its chief mass.

A part of the corpus striatum is imbedded in the white substance of the hemisphere, and is therefore external to the ventricle; it is termed the extraventricular portion, or the lenticular nucleus.

The remainder, however, projects into the ventricle, and is named the intraventricular portion, or the caudate nucleus.