# External capsule

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/External_capsule
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/External_capsule.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_capsule
> Source revision: 1320948144
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|White matter structure of the brain}}
{{Distinguish|Extreme capsule}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox brain
| Name            = External capsule
| Latin           = capsula externa
| Image           = Gray717-emphasizing-external capsule.png
| Caption         = [Horizontal section](/source/Horizontal_section) of right [cerebral hemisphere](/source/cerebral_hemisphere). (external capsule shown in orange, indicated by red arrow.)
| Image2          = Gray753.png
| Caption2        = Deep dissection of cortex and brain-stem. (External capsule visible at center.)
| IsPartOf        =
| Components      =
| Artery          =
| Vein            =
}}
The '''external capsule''' is a series of [white matter](/source/white_matter) fiber tracts in the [brain](/source/brain). These fibers run between the most lateral (toward the side of the head) segment of the [lentiform nucleus](/source/lentiform_nucleus) (more specifically the [putamen](/source/putamen)) and the [claustrum](/source/claustrum).

The white matter of the external capsule contains fibers known as corticocortical [association fibers](/source/association_fibers). These fibers are responsible for connecting the [cerebral cortex](/source/cerebral_cortex) to another cortical area. The capsule itself appears as a thin white sheet of white matter.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-external-capsule.htm |title = What Is the External Capsule? |last = Powell |first = Meshell  |publisher = Conjecture Corporation |date = 13 January 2014 |website = wiseGEEK |access-date= 22 Jan 2014 }}</ref>

The external capsule is a route for [cholinergic](/source/cholinergic) fibers from the [basal forebrain](/source/basal_forebrain) to the [cerebral cortex](/source/cerebral_cortex).

The putamen separates the external capsule from the [internal capsule](/source/internal_capsule) medially and the claustrum separates it from the [extreme capsule](/source/extreme_capsule) laterally. But the external capsule eventually joins the internal capsule around the lentiform nucleus.

==Additional images==
<gallery>
File:Gray682.png|Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Lateral view.
File:Gray689.png|Superficial dissection of brain-stem. Ventral view.
File:Gray691.png|Dissection of brain-stem. Dorsal view.
File:Slide5gg.JPG|External capsule
File:Slide7kk.JPG|External capsule
File:Slide2GRE.JPG|Ventricles of brain and basal ganglia. Superior view. Horizontal section. Deep dissection.
File:Slide3GRE.JPG|Ventricles of brain and basal ganglia.Superior view. Horizontal section. Deep dissection.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|External capsule}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s13048.000-2.html|title=Anatomy diagram: 13048.000-2|work= Roche Lexicon - illustrated navigator|publisher= Elsevier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722052501/http://www.tk.de/rochelexikon/pics/s13048.000-2.html|archive-date=2012-07-22}}
* [http://www.sph.sc.edu/comd/rorden/anatomy/na_wm.html Image at Univ. of South Carolina]

{{Basal ganglia}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Cerebrum

{{neuroanatomy-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [External capsule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_capsule) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_capsule?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.