Uncus

The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a slight fissure called the incisura temporalis.Position of uncus (red)Basal view of a human brainScheme of rhinencephalon. (Uncus labeled at bottom right.) The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a slight fissure called the incisura temporalis. Although superficially continuous with the hippocampal gyrus, the uncus forms morphologically a part of the rhinencephalon. The term comes from the Latin word uncus, meaning hook, and it was coined by Félix Vicq-d'Azyr (1748–1794). The part of the olfactory cortex that is on the temporal lobe covers the area of the uncus, which leads into the two significant clinical aspects of the uncus: uncinate fits and uncal herniations.