Introduction
Preoperative preparation plays a crucial role in planning brain surgery. Medical imaging (CT, MRI) depicts in which anatomical areas of the brain the targeted lesion is located. In the brain there are areas that are known as "eloquent" and those considered as "not eloquent" areas.
Eloquent brain areas include, for example, the movement area (motor cortex), the language region and the visual cortex. Here lesions can lead to paralysis of the facial muscles and limbs, speech disorders, respectively visual disturbances. However, an operation in these areas also carries the risk of a new neurological deficit or worsening of existing symptoms.
Therefore, the surgical preparation in neurosurgery - particularly for tumors in the eloquent areas of the brain – has a particular significance. It is important to find a strategy that takes both the radical nature (complete resection of the lesion) and the functionality (preservation of movement, speech, and vision) into consideration.
The extent of resection (e.g. in case of a brain tumor) and the surgical access are the basis of preoperative decision making. The surgeon can obtain further information in addition to the known anatomical landmarks in CT and MRI for his decision making process. The corresponding methods for this are described on the following pages.
