Midline abnormalities and psychopathology: how reliable is the midsagittal magnetic resonance "window" into the brain?

The argument is made that mensuration of midsagittal magnetic resonance (MR) images is plagued with methodological errors due to confusion of the midsagittal MR image and the mesial brain surface. Several examples are given to demonstrate the effects of slice thickness and orientation on the size and shape of mesial structures. The benefits of examining contiguous slices and the necessity of consulting coronal and transaxial cuts in mensuration efforts of midsagittal cuts are emphasized.