Brain Maps

Spinal Cord/Brainstem Interactive Atlas
The Spinal Cord/Brainstem Interactive Atlas was constructed by Dr. Mark Wiegand at Bellarmine University. The atlas consists of 27 photographs of the spinal cord and brainstem at different levels. You can start your exploration near the base of the spinal cord (lumbosacral enlargement) by clicking on the "Start" button or you can advance to any level by selecting a photograph from the numbered index.
Each photograph is accompanied by a drawing to show the location of the section. The photographs are labelled with letters to indicate important structures. When you hold your cursor over a letter, the name of the structure will appear in a small box below the cursor. If you click on a letter, a small pop-up window will tell you more about the structure.

The HOPES Brain Tutorial
The HOPES (Huntington's Outreach Project for Education, at Stanford) web site takes people on a guided tour of the human brain.  The tour starts with a brief description of brain cells (neurons and glia) and the ventricular system and then explores the different lobes of the brain.
The tutorial gets more detailed in its discussion of the limbic system, basal ganglia and diencephalon.  The tour makes it easy to learn this material by allowing users to turn labels on and off and by showing only certain structures in each picture.  The ability to add or subtract structures will help you get an idea of the three dimensional structure of the brain.
The brain tutorial is only one section of a larger HOPES web site that discusses the causes, diagnosis and treatment of the neurological disorder called Huntington's disease. Use the buttons on the left side of the brain tutorial screen to visit the main HOPES site.  Make sure to read the online illustrated book for kids titled "Bryan's Dad Has Huntington's Disease" (the "For Kids" button).