Occipital lobe
Lobus occipitalis
Definition
The occipital lobe is the caudal part of the cerebral hemisphere, corresponding to the cortex located around the occipital pole. It lies caudal to the parietal and temporal regions of the cerebrum and is associated primarily with visual function.
The occipital cortex contains visual sensory areas receiving afferent input related to vision, as well as surrounding association areas involved in the interpretation and integration of visual information. Like other neocortical sensory regions, these visual cortical areas communicate with thalamic nuclei through corticothalamic pathways.
In domestic animals, the terminology of the cerebral lobes has more limited functional relevance compared with humans.
References
Evans HE, de Lahunta A. Miller’s anatomy of the dog, 4th edition, Elsevier Saunders, St Louis, 2012.
