Caudate nucleus

The caudate nucleus is a pear-shaped, highly arched gray mass; its broad extremity, or head, is directed forward into the anterior cornu of the lateral ventricle, and is continuous with the anterior perforated substance and with the anterior end of the lentiform nucleus; its narrow end, or tail, is directed backward on the lateral side of the thalamus, from which it is separated by the stria terminalis and the terminal vein. It is then continued downward into the roof of the inferior cornu, and ends in the putamen near the apex of the temporal lobe. It is covered by the lining of the ventricle, and crossed by some veins of considerable size. It is separated from the lentiform nucleus, in the greater part of its extent, by a thick lamina of white substance, called the internal capsule, but the two portions of the corpus striatum are united in front