Abstract
A striking feature of the studies that have addressed the measurrement of the amygdala is the wide range of volumes encountered, ranging from 1 to almost 4 cm3. The goal of our study was to assess the anatomical volume of the amygdala on the basis of its cytoarchitecture.
We elected to use two types of amygdalar measurement that differ mainly in the definition of anterior pole boundaries (including area amygdalaris anterior, area preamygdalaris and other). The volume of the amygdala was calculated using the equation: (S1 + S2 +...+Sn) l F = amygdalar volume, where 'S' represents the area of the amygala in the series of histological slices, 'l' is the distance between slices and 'F' is the shrinkage factor (10%).
The average of classis amygdala was 1,24 cm3 (SD=0,14), while the average size of the amygdala with wider borders was 1,63 cm3 (SD=0,2). No interhemispheric or intersexual or age differences were observed for either type of amygdalar measurent.