Anterior median fissure of medulla oblongata

The anterior median fissure contains a fold of pia mater, and extends along the length of the medulla oblongata.

It ends at the lower border of the pons in a small triangular area, termed the foramen cecum.

On either side of this fissure are raised areas termed the medullary pyramids.

The pyramids house the pyramidal tracts–the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts of the nervous system.

At the caudal part of the medulla these tracts cross over in the decussation of the pyramids obscuring the fissure at this point.

Some other fibers that originate from the anterior median fissure above the decussation of the pyramids and run laterally across the surface of the pons are known as the anterior external arcuate fibers.